Strawberry Shortcake version 2

I made the cake pictured above nearly a year ago, November 13th to be exact.  It was for my husband's birthday.  I never thought of posting this here since I had already shared a well-liked recipe of the strawberry shortcake a while back. I'd actually forgotten about it, until recently, when strawberries started to appear in abundance again in our local supermarkets.

The inspiration for this cake is a popular version in Baguio city.  Not surprising, as it is where Philippine strawberries come from!

Strawberry shortcake from Vizco's Restaurant in Baguio city (image credit: Aspire Pattisier)

Strawberry shortcake slice (image credit: Flickr)

The difference between this cake and the first version is simple and obvious - this has loads more strawberries!

To make sure I still knew how, I made a small 6" cake a few weeks ago.

Now I am ready to share.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

For the chiffon:

Ingredients:

{A}

1 1/8 cups cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/8 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

{B}

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup vegetable/canola oil

1/3 cup water or milk

1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract

few drops of pink (or red) liquid food colouring

{C}

4 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

{D}

3/8 cup sugar

Procedure:

1.  Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

2.  In a large bowl, combine {A} well.  Add in {B}.  Beat with electric mixer or by hand until smooth and well blended.

3.  In a separate bowl, beat {C} on high speed until frothy.  Gradually add in {D} and beat until stiff peaks are formed.  Gradually and gently fold in egg whites into egg yolk mixture.  Pour batter into an ungreased 8" round, 3" high pan lined with parchment paper at the bottom. 

4.  Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.  Invert pan into wire rack immediately and cool completely.

5.  To release, carefully run a thin knife around sides of pan.

For the Strawberry-flavoured Whipped Cream frosting:

Ingredients:

2 cups whipping or thickened cream, very cold
1 bar (250g) of cream cheese, cold
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon strawberry extract
few drops of pink (or red) liquid food colouring

Procedure:

Cut up the cream cheese into small cubes.  In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Set aside.

In your chilled bowl and using clean beaters, beat the whipping cream, sugar, strawberry extract, and food colouring until the mixture is quite stiff. Gently fold in the cream cheese then beat again at high speed for about 45 seconds or until everything is well combined.  Be careful not to overbeat.

For the gelatine glaze:**

4 teaspoons unflavoured gelatine
2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
2/3 cup water

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until the gelatine and sugar melt. Do not boil. Let it cool until mixture is slightly thick but not yet starting to set.

**Make this just before arranging the strawberries on the cake top.

To assemble the cake:

You will also need:

500 grams of fresh strawberries, washed and leaves removed

Cut 200 grams of strawberries into small cubes for the filling.  The 300 grams left are for the topping, Cut them in half only, leaving one whole strawberry for the cake center.

Cut your cake horizontally in half.  Invert top layer onto your cake board.  Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip with some of the whipped cream.  Pipe a dam around the cake edge then spread some whipped cream inside the dam.  Fill the center with the cubed strawberries. Spread more whipped cream until the cubed strawberries are fully covered.  Top with the other cake layer, cut side down.

Cover the whole cake with more whipped cream then using the same piping bag (with the star tip) you used to make the dam, pipe a border around the cake top. (To copy Vizco's look, pipe big "s" and reverse "s" alternately around the cake edge.)

To arrange the halved strawberries on the cake top, start from the outer edge, positioning each strawberry at an angle with pointy side up. Fill the whole cake top.  Use the whole strawberry for the center spot.

Brush cooled gelatine generously over the strawberries.  Refrigerate to set.

Hope you can all try this new version!  Enjoy!