Strawberry lemon sponge cake

 

This cake is pretty easy to make and has a nice fresh taste to it.  Tools you need for this are: a spring form pan, parchment paper, A whisk, a medium star pastry tip, pastry bag, electrical mixer.  You can make the desert without the pastry tip and bag.  I just used it to pipe on the whipped cream which covers the top of the cake.  An alternative is just to spread the whipped cream over the top with a large flat knife.

Ingredients

Italian Sponge cake

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 tsp salt

6 large eggs, separpated

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

Lemon pastry cream

5 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbsp cornstarch

2 cups milk

juice from one lemon

Whipped cream

1 cup of heavy cream

2 tbsp confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Garnish

Lemon juice

box of blueberries

box of strawberries

1/2 cup of melted chocolate

First make the sponge cake.  Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.  Butter a 10 inch spring form pan and line it with parchment paper.  Sift the flour and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.  Beat the egg yolks, sugar, and lemon zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed.

The egg yolks will become extremely pale and the mixture will become thick and creamy.  Using a spatula fold the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture.  Next prepare the egg whites.

If you are using the same mixer you used to make the egg yolks make sure that it has been thoroughly cleaned and then dried.  If a little bit of water is added to your egg whites it will ruin them.  Beat the egg whites on high until it forms stiff peaks like the picture to the right.  Using a spatula carefully spoon the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.  Carefully fold in the beaten egg whites.  You want to keep all of the fluffiness of the egg whites so don't over mix and don't use a spoon or an electrical mixer.  When you are done folding the egg whites into the mixture, quickly pour it into you spring for pan and place it in the oven for 35-40 minutes.  When the cake is done it will be springy to the touch and it will begin shrinking from the pan sides.

Cool the cake in the pan for about five minutes.  Loosen around the pan sides and invert the cake onto a rack.  Remove the pan and then carefully peel off the paper.  Turn the cake back, right side up and allow it to cool completely.  After it has cooled completely place it in the refrigerator.  In the next step the cake will have to be sliced in half and this is done easier when the cake is cold.

For the pastry cream.  Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy.  Beat in the cornstarch and salt.  In a deep saucepan bring the milk to a boil.  Careful while doing this otherwise you will scald the milk.  Put the stove on medium so the milk slowly heats up and stir it occasionally.  When the milk has come to a boil, pour it slowly into your egg yolk mixture and stir it in.




Return everything to the pan and turn the heat to low.  For about five minutes or until the mixture starts thickening stir with a wooden spoon.  Then switch to a whisk so you can easily break up any lumps that form.  Bring to a boil and boil it for about one minute.  The mixture will become noticeably thick, remember to stir constantly otherwise it your cream will be lumpy. 





When done remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.  Pour the done cream in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.  Make sure the plastic wrap is right on the top of the cream, this will prevent a skin from forming.  Let the cream sit out on the counter until it has cooled, and then place it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  Allowing it to cool makes it thicker and easier to spread onto your cake.





While your cream and cake are in the refrigerator prepare your whip cream by placing all of the ingredients in an electrical mixer and mixing it on medium until it becomes thick.  Careful not to over mix, other wise you will get butter.  When the whipped cream is done, if you are using a pastry bag, spoon it into the pastry bag and place it in the refrigerator while you prepare the next step.

For a garnish I washed the blueberries and splashed just a small amount of lemon juice with about a tbsp of sugar.  I prefer raw sugar but if you don't have any regular sugar works fine.  Carefully stir the blueberries making sure they get completely covered.  For the strawberries, save about 12 and slice the rest.  For the 12 make sure you wash and then completely dry them.  Get about 1/2 a cup of your favorite chocolate and melt it.  It is best to use a double boiler rather then the microwave because you may over cook and burn your chocolate in the microwave.  When the chocolate is melted, hold a strawberry by the green and dip it in the chocolate,  When done place them in the refrigerator.

Now it is time to get your cake out of the refrigerator.  Slice it in half, horizontally.  Place the bottom on a plate and spoon the pastry cream onto the middle.  Using a spatula or a flat knife evenly spread the cream over the whole bottom half of the cake.  Cover it with the sliced strawberries, and then place the top half of the cake on top.

Get your whipped cream and decorate however you like.  Have fun with it!  When your done place the chocolate covered strawberries on top and garnish with the blueberries.

Happy Valentines day!