Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is a dessert commonly eaten by Japanese during Christmas time and for different kinds of celebration! It is light and fluffy, and not as sweet as the typical European/American desserts, giving a light mild sweetness.
We always feel so excited when the strawberries season comes! Even though we can probably get strawberries all year round, but during strawberries season, you can really get sweeter strawberries at a cheaper price.
This time our recipe is a mini version for 1-2 people, but we’ve shared a recipe a few years ago for a medium-size cake (18cm cake form for around 6 people).
The difference between the Japanese Strawberry Shortcake and the American shortcake
Japnese Strawberry Shortcake is actually sponge cake. Sponge cake is made of flour, sugar, and egg. On the other hand, the American shortcake is more like a biscuit or scone. Shortcake is usually made of flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, milk, etc.
How to arrange strawberries on the cake?
You can cut off the greens and put the whole strawberries upside down. Alternatively, you can also cut the strawberries in half, or quarters with the leaves on, which could also give some extra colors to the cake. Another way is to slice the strawberries and arrange them nicely on the cake.
Should I wash the strawberries before decorating the cake?
We always wash our strawberries before decoration, but we will use a kitchen towel to dry them before using them. We read too many reports that there could be worms or other dirty stuff on the strawberries, so we always wash them.
How to wash the strawberries?
We usually soak the strawberries in water with some salt for around 10 mins. Rinse it off with water gently, and pat them dry with kitchen paper.
Could I scale up the recipe and make a bigger cake?
Our recipe for this cake is a mini version for 1-2 people, but you can scale this recipe up by multiplying the ingredients, using an egg as the base unit.
Japanese Strawberry Shortcake
Equipment
- Two 12cm cake forms
Ingredients
Sponge cake
- 1 Egg
- 25 g Sugar
- 30 g Cake flour
- 10 g Butter melted
Syrup
- 1 g Sugar
- 2 tbsp Water
Whipped Cream
- 130 g Whipping cream at least 30% fat
- 13 g Sugar
Strawberries
- 10 Strawberries
Instructions
Sponge cake
- Preheat the oven at 170°C.
- In a small bowl, break an egg and briefly mix it.
- Add the sugar, and use a hand mixer to beat the egg until it turns white.
- Sieve the flour in 2 batches, fold briefly to combine.
- Add the melted butter in a few batches, fold to mix until it just combines.
- In the 2 cake forms, line with baking paper. Divide the cake batter equally into the two forms by dropping the batter from the center, around 15 cm above.
- Bake for 12-15mins, or until the top turns golden brown.
- Cool it down in the form for 5 mins. Then carefully tear the baking paper around the cake. Put the cake and cake form upside down, on top of a kitchen paper to cool down completely. (Tip: You can make the cake the day before, and wrap it with cling film, and put it in the fridge.)
Syrup & Strawberry preparation
- Melt 1 gram of sugar and 2 tbsp of water. Leave it aside to cool.
- Wash and slice the strawberries into thick slices.
Whipped Cream
- Put ice and water in a bigger bowl to make an ice water bath.
- Add whipping cream and sugar to a smaller bowl.
- Place the smaller bowl in the water bath. With the help of a hand mixer, gradually increase the speed to high speed.
- Whip the cream until a stiff peak formed.
Assemble the cake
- Add a small splash of whipping cream in the middle.
- Put one of the sponge cakes on top. Brush some syrup on the cake to keep it moist.
- Add a thick layer of whipped cream.
- Then a layer of sliced strawberries.
- Cover with another layer of cream.
- Brush some syrup on the bottom of the other cake. Put it on top of the cream.
- Cover the cake with whipped cream and decorate as you wish.