Strawberry sponge cake
BAKING with fresh strawberries can give a very soggy result, so we prefer to use freeze-dried strawberries.
These also retain a nice tangy flavour and a chewy bite after baking, rather than turning to mush.
● 685g (24oz) butter, softened
● 685g (24oz) caster sugar
● 700g (25oz) self-raising flour
● 3 tsp baking powder
● 12 large eggs
● 2 tsp vanilla extract
● 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries, chopped into small pieces
● 6 tbsp strawberry jam, for filling
● 600g (21oz) unsalted butter, very soft
● 1.35kg (3lb) icing sugar
● 60ml (2 fl oz) milk
● Pink food colouring
PREHEAT the oven to 160C (325F, gas 3). Grease the sides of four 23cm (9in) cake tins and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper.
Put the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Sift in the flour and baking powder. Using a free-standing or hand-held mixer, beat the ingredients for a minute on a medium-high speed.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again for 30 seconds until paler in colour, light and fluffy.
Stir through the strawberries until evenly spread through the mixture, then divide the batter between the four cake tins – spread it out right to the edges to ensure an even bake.
There should be about 650g (23oz) of mixture per tin. This doesn’t need to be exact, simply a guide to avoid the four cakes being different heights.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream. Place the soft butter and 450g (1lb) of the icing sugar into a bowl and beat for a minute on low to medium speed.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl then beat again for one minute on a medium-high speed.
Add a further 450g (1lb) of the icing sugar and beat again for two minutes.
Add half the milk and the rest of the icing sugar and beat again. Pour in the remaining milk and keep beating until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
Add two to three drops of the pink food colouring. Combine fully and add
more colouring if necessary. Once the cakes are fully cooled, stack the sponges one on top of each other, applying a layer of buttercream and two tablespoons of strawberry jam between each layer. Ice the top and sides with a thin layer of buttercream. Don’t worry about being too neat at this stage.
Set in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour, then apply another layer, taking more care this time. Again, put in the fridge to set. Add the final layer of buttercream, using a palette knife or scraper around the sides to get the sides of the cakes as smooth as possible.
Decorate with strawberries and other seasonal fruit, flowers and herbs.