Strawberry & White Chocolate Cream Cake

By cookism

It is one of those days when you feel like donning an apron, clapping some flour off your hands and get baking. Cakes are not merely for celebrations, and even so, there’s something worth celebrating everyday. This Strawberry & White Chocolate Cream Cake is light and simple—a toast to beauty in simplicity and the little things in life. A slice contains a mishmash of tart strawberries, smooth silky chocolate cream and decadent crumbly cake, which epitomises the multi-textural nature of the everyday. Here’s a baking gem that satiates the eyes and the palate.

(Adapted from The Great Britain Bake Off)

Ingredients

• For the sponge cake:
• 150 g of Good Quality White Chocolate (broken into smaller chunks)
• 200 g of Unsalted Butter + extra for greasing (diced & softened)
• 3 Large Eggs (at room temperature)
• 150 g of Caster Sugar
• Zest of 1/2 Orange
• 200 g of Self-Raising Flour
• For the filling & topping:
• 450 g of Strawberries
• Zest and Juice of 1/2 Orange
• 1 tbsp of Caster Sugar (to taste)
• 300 ml of Whipping Cream (Chilled)
• 50 g of Good Quality White Chocolate (to decorate)
• 100 g of Raspberry Jam

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Prepare 2 cake tins by greasing the sides and baste with softened butter, then line the base with grease-proof paper and grease it again. Place chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water (a bain-marie), making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the hot water. Allow the chocolate to melt gently, stirring frequently. When the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the heat and stir in butter till well-combined.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and whisk until frothy with an electric mixer, followed by sugar and orange zest. Whisk again on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until the mixture is pale yellow, very thick and falls in ribbons. This process takes about 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir chocolate-butter mixture before adding it to the egg mixture. Gently and briefly stir till just combined, then sift and delicately fold in the flour in two batches. Weigh and divide batter between the prepared tins to achieve evenly-sized cakes. Spread the batter and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cakes are light golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. Run a knife around the insides of the tins to loosen the cakes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Remove the greaseproof paper when it is cool enough to touch.
5. In the meantime, prepare the filling. Set aside 7 presentable, evenly-sized strawberries for the topping later. Hull and thinly slice the rest of the strawberries into a bowl. Add in sugar, orange zest and juice and mix lightly. Leave for 30 minutes to marinate.
6. To prepare the topping, heat jam in a saucepan, stirring frequently until melted. Bring it to a boil, then remove from the heat. Dip and coat whole strawberries (leaves removed) into the jam. Carefully place strawberries top side down on a plate for later use. To make whipped cream, place your beaters and mixing bowl in the freezer for about 30 minutes before use. Prepare an ice bath and place the mixing bowl over it. Pour cold cream into the mixing bowl and whisk with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until thick.
7. Place one sponge cake, topside down on a serving plate. Spoon sliced strawberries and juice evenly onto it. Spread half of the whipped cream on top and set the second sponge cake, topside up on the cream. Spread the rest of the cream on top.
8. Decorate the cake with glazed strawberries in the middle and grated white chocolate around it. Ready to serve!