Strawberry Chiffon Cake
This strawberry chiffon cake is a delightful surprise. Sponge cake, creamy buttercream, and sweet strawberries provide a pampering snack! Loaded with strawberries (2 lb), this is one of the great ways to use strawberries when they’re in season. This is a stunning cake recipe that tastes as amazing as it looks!
Equipment
- Spring form 8 inches / 20 cm diameter
- A conventional oven is used. When using a convection oven (with air fan) decrease the temperature with 30 °F / 20 °C
- Hand Mixer
- plastic foil
- Parchment paper
- Silicon spatula
Ingredients
Biscuit
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 egg yolks size L
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon lemon grated
- 5 egg whites size L
- ¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
Buttercream
- ¾ teaspoon gelatin powder
- ½ tablespoon water
- 1 cup milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 egg size L
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- ⅓ cup mascarpone
- ⅔ cup cream
Sugar syrup
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup water
Garnish and filling
- 2 lb strawberries use ¼ lb for garnish
- confectioners sugar for dusting
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
Biscuit
- Preheat the oven to 320 °F (160 °C).
- Line a springform with baking paper.
- Mix the flour, ½ cup of sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.1¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon salt
- Mix the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla, and lemon zest in a second bowl.¼ cup vegetable oil, 3 egg yolks , 6 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¾ teaspoon lemon
- Pour the contents of the second bowl into the first and mix well with a spoon until you get a smooth mixture.
- Put the egg whites in another bowl and whisk until stiff with the help of a mixer.5 egg whites
- Add the tartaric acid and continue mixing until peaks are forming.¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
- Add the remaining sugar, little by little until the egg whites are firm and shiny.
- Spoon about ⅓ of the egg white mixture through the flour mixture with a plastic spatula. Fold it carefully until it is mixed. Then you fold the rest of the egg white mixture through it.
- Pour the dough into the springform and bake the cake in the oven for 55 minutes.
- Check that the cake is good with a satay stick.
- After baking, pour the cake on a rack and let it cool down. Turn the cake over and remove the baking paper. The cake can be baked four days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
Buttercream
- When using sheets, soak the gelatin sheets in cold water. If you use gelatin powder: Sprinkle the gelatin on the water (½ tablespoon) and let it soften for a few minutes. Warm in the microwave for a minute.¾ teaspoon gelatin powder, ½ tablespoon water
- Pour the milk into the pan and add the vanilla and salt.1 cup milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Warm on medium heat and bring it to a boil (when you see steam but no bubbles yet) while stirring now and then.
- In the meantime, mix the cornstarch and the sugar in a bowl.2 tablespoons cornstarch, ⅓ cup sugar
- Add the eggs and beat with the whisk until you’ve got a smooth mixture.1 egg
- When the milk almost boils, pour the hot milk with the cornstarch drip at a time while continuing to beat. Pour the mixture back into the pan (still whisking) and warm until the custard thickens.
- Remove from the heat and mix the gelatin into the hot custard. Stir until the gelatin is dissolved.
- Strain the custard mixture.
- Divide the butter into four and add one lump at a time while whisking.2 tablespoons butter
- Cover with a plastic foil that touches the top of the custard, so no sheet will form.
- Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes.
- In a second bowl, mix the mascarpone with the cream until stiff peaks form.⅔ cup cream, ⅓ cup mascarpone
- Fold the cream mixture through the custard with a spatula.
Sugar Syrup
- Mix the water with the sugar in a small saucepan.⅓ cup sugar, ⅓ cup water
- Bring to the boil, and let the sugar dissolve.
- Turn the heat of and let it cool down slightly
Cake preparation
- Line the sides of the springform with plastic foil (not the bottom).
- Slice the biscuit, horizontal, in half.
- Put the first layer of biscuit in the springform.
- Sprinkle three tablespoons of syrup over the cake.
- Remove the crowns from the strawberries. Halve as many strawberries as needed to rest against the inside of the springform.2 lb strawberries
- Place the strawberries against the sides of the baking tin on the first layer of cake.
- Pipe some buttercream between the strawberries and a thin layer on the cake.
- Cut the remaining strawberries into quarters. And spread them on top of the buttercream.
- Hold four tablespoons of buttercream apart and pipe the rest on top of the strawberries.
- Place the second biscuit layer on top.
- Sprinkle the remaining syrup on the cake.
- Smear the buttercream on top of the second biscuit. Garnish with the remaining strawberries and cover the cake with a plastic foil.
- Let stiffen in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- Before serving, remove the spring form and gently peel the plastic away.
- Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve immediately.confectioners sugar
NOTES
1. Cream of Tartar and Baking Powder
In the recipe, you use cream of tartar to make your cake airy. Cream of Tartar is prepared from natural raw materials. This is in contrast to baking powder which is made out of chemical substances. However, the reaction it gives in your batter is the same. Therefore you can replace the cream of tartar with baking powder.
2. - Egg whites
Add the beaten egg whites in two portions and not all at the same time. The butter and egg whites mingle better, so the cake will get airier.
3. - Cake test
With a skewer, you can check the doneness of the cake. Therefore, prick with a skewer into the center (the thickest part) of the cake. When the skewer comes out dry, then the cake is done.
4. - Gelatin
You can buy it as sheets or as gelatin powder. When purchased in sheets, you first have to soften it in some cold water. And then you’ve got to dissolve it in a hot liquid. When using gelatin powder, you can use ¾ teaspoon (which is equal to 1 ½ sheets - 3 grams). So one teaspoon of gelatin powder corresponds to 3 grams of gelatin. For the end result, it doesn’t matter which sort of gelatin you use.
Dissolve the gelatin in the hot custard (the moment just before you sieve the custard). Stir well so that the gelatin is dissolved before you start to sieve the custard!
5. - Keep it airy
Mix the cream mixture with a spatula through the custard (and not with a whisk or mixer). You want to preserve as much air as possible in the cream. Mixing with a mixer or whisk would make the cream less airy!
6. - Easy does it
Use a plastic film inside the cake tin. This way, your cake gets much easier out of the springform and remains as beautiful as you shaped it!
7. - Oven
When using a conventional oven, set the temperature to 320 °F (160 °C). In a convection oven, 285 °F (140 °C) is enough.
8. - Storage
- Refrigerator - Wrap the cake in plastic foil and store it for three days.
- Freezer - You can freeze this Strawberry Chiffon Cake. Put the cake back in the springform and let it freeze overnight. Take out the cake and remove the springform. Wrap the cake as tightly as possible in plastic foil and repeat it (two layers of plastic foil). And then pack it in aluminum foil. Put back in the freezer. Let it defrost for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature.
Nutrition
Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 207mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 303IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Iron: 1mg
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