← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 100 g caster sugar
• 100 g cake or plain flour, sifted twice
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp Milk
• 40 ml Water
• 15 g Sugar
• 400 ml double or whipping cream (35% fat or more), very cold
• 30 g Sugar
• 450 g Strawberries

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170°C (340°F) and line an 18 cm round cake tin with baking paper. Melt the butter with the milk and keep it warm.
2. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over hot water until the mixture feels just warm, then take it off the heat. Beat with an electric whisk for 8–10 min until pale and thick: a ribbon dropped from the beaters should sit on the surface for 3 seconds. Beat on low for 1 minute to even out the bubbles.
3. Sift in the flour in two additions, folding gently with a spatula until just combined. Stir a scoop of batter into the warm butter mixture, then fold it back into the batter.
4. Pour into the tin, tap once on the counter and bake for 25–30 min, until golden and springy and a skewer comes out clean.
5. Drop the tin onto the counter from a little height to stop it shrinking, turn the sponge out onto a rack and cool completely, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, boil the water and sugar for the syrup and let it cool.
6. Hull the strawberries, keep 8 pretty ones whole and slice the rest. Whip the cream with the sugar to medium-firm peaks, keeping the bowl over ice.
7. Trim the top of the sponge and slice it into 2 layers. Brush both cut sides with syrup. Spread cream on the bottom layer, cover with sliced strawberries and more cream, then add the top layer.
8. Cover the whole cake with a thin layer of cream, then a smooth final layer. Pipe rosettes on top, crown with the whole strawberries and chill for 30 min before slicing.

Tips

• Pat the sliced strawberries dry before layering so the cream stays firm.
• Run your knife under hot water and wipe it between cuts for clean slices.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook RecipeTin Japan Chopstick Chronicles Japanese Cooking 101