Classic, homely, sweet. My Strawberry Shortcake with Creme Chantilly.
It's summer in Singapore everyday!
This is probably my 15th time making a layer cake (or even more). But each and every time I bake a layer cake, there is nothing I worry more than the sponge. Intially, I intended to layer it with chiffon but my yolk mixture was extremely rubbery and doughy! Thinking that it might have been me instead of the recipe, I decided to try again - and still failed T_T I was quite upset because I don't like wastage. Sighs.
So the third time I made, I used a basic sponge cake (cause I thought it was stupid it do again and waste more ingredients if I hadn't any idea what went wrong) and *PHEW* nice, soft and light cake. Just what I was looking for =) (that's why you should never give up!)
And I finish them off with apricot glaze :D It makes them shinee~~
(look at my cream T.T I really don't know why this happened, so I covered them with some raisins? It's good to have raisins at home. They're sooo great even in yogurt -LAUGHS-)
I fill the layers with Creme Chantilly (vanilla flavoured whipped cream) and when it comes to frosting, I nearly screw my whole cake!! I wonder what went wrong..... It seems to curdle, but that's not the word. The cream just wasn't SMOOTH! =.=
Nice layer right? I've never been as gentle as I was yesterday. I was worried that the sponge might just tear -.- Anyway, here's a tip for you, always always remember to be generous. Generous is the key - hey it's strawberry shortcake!!
AND LOOK AT THE COOL WALNUTS I ADDED!! I hope it complement the strawberries eh :)
I placed my cake board on the bottom-side-up of my cake pan. Works quite nicely too, cause I don't have a cake stand!
Yum away with my friend! This is for his family :) Hope they like it. I'm sooooo sorry about my cream.. Do you know why? =(
No exam papers today and tomorrow, so I spent my day in town looking for a holiday job. 'd never mentioned where I previously worked at, but it's Mrs Fields' by the way. I'm soooooo very sure you've heard of Mrs Fields' before, their brownies and muffins are delicious. Their soft cookies make me scream, and working there - I sure put on A LOT of weight. LOL!?
The first bakery I went was Obolo at Joo Chiat where I was rejected (expected it but deep inside I was thinking why couldn't they give me a surprise!? HAHA) The next stop was Gobi at Suntec, then BreadTalk at CityLink, then Aerin's, then Canele, then Double Bay all at Raffles City... Some weren't hiring, some told me to leave down my contact details. Although the rejection at Obolo was already like a warmup to me (-__-), it wasn't part of my plan to go home empty-handed. I continued looking around ....
My 7th stop was a coincidence, at an Irish-Italian restaurant. I walked in because I like the place! Seriously, my dream cafe is one without 'aircon'. I love breeze and green! LOL. Yeah so, at the same place after quite a long talk, I was hired as a junior pastry cook! (clap clap clap) I'm very sure this job will be my stepping stone to a better baker! =DD
Oh, I'm working full-time. Quite unimaginable though. 6 days/week. I predict my dad screaming at me -__-
Well, lesson of the day: Never give up! Be it cakes or jobs. You can do it too =))))))
Basic Sponge Cake, just nice for my 8-inches round cake
(from Sept 09 Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine)
4 eggs
40g butter
120g flour
110 caster sugar
seed of 1 vanilla bean (or 1tsp vanilla extract)
1. Preheat oven to 180degreeC. Brush your cake tin with butter and dust it with flour.
2. Triple sift your flour and set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until thick, pale and tripled volume.
4. Sift flour over in 3 batches then fold in melted butter.
5. Bake until light golden, 20-25minutes. Cool completely.
1/2 box of sliced strawberries
1 box of strawberries, halved
some walnutes (optional)
Creme Chantilly
225ml whipping cream
26g confectioners' sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
Whip cream till soft peaks, add in sugar and vanilla. Continue whipping until slightly stiff.
Basic Syrup
50g sugar
50g water
Heat to combine.
Layering the Cake:
As shown in the pictures above :) Remember to moisten each layer before spreading the cream! Sprinkle with blueberries if desired.
Apricot Glaze
1 tbsp of apricot jam
2 tsp of water
Heat to combine. Sieve to remove any fruit. Using a pastry brush, gently brush over the strawberries.
Okay that was a great piece of advice! It was also my guess on
whether it's because I didn't chill them long enough?
congrats, pastry chef! that's awesome! and your shortcake looks amazing - i would do anything to have a piece right now!