There is almost nothing that says summer as much as a simple, fluffy sponge cake with cream and strawberries. And while I do enjoy that as it is, in all its simplicity, I wanted to add something. And strawberries and balsamico is pretty much a match made in heaven, I know that since I made a cream soda with balsamic strawberries for a magazine not too long ago. It was honestly one of the best things ever, that I will make many times this summer.
Or let me call it “summer”, so far at least. If you’re from a nourthern
country, you probably know what I mean by that. When I was at the First We Eat workshop in Barcelona in March, Patricia of Sabores y momentos
asked me why I was so obsessed with checking my weather app all the
time. I told her that where I live, we need to make the most out of the
few sunny days we have, because it can literally be weeks until we see
the sun again. And that the weather is definitely a topic of
conversation in Sweden. She told me in her happiest voice “Well, that’s
not a problem here, it’s almost always sunny!”. Well, at least this cake
sure makes it feel like it’s sunny outside.
FLUFFY SPONGE CAKE
WITH BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES
yields one 24 cm (9.5 inch) cake, serves 6-8
This cake does not keep well in the fridge as the strawberries tend to get a little mushy after a while, so make sure to prepare the strawberries and cream topping right before serving!
Ingredients
For the sponge cake
150 g butter
1 cup (225 g) granulated sugar
3 medium eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (150 g) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
zest from 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp milk
For the balsamic strawberries
300 g fresh strawberries
1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp balsamico
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp vanilla powder
zest from 1/2 lemon
For the topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp granulated sugar
Fresh mint leaves
Directions
Sponge cake
1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F)
2. Grease a 24 cm (9-9.5-inch) cake pan with a removable bottom. Sprinkle pan with bread crumbs or flour, make sure you get some on the sides of the pan aswell.
3. Melt butter and let cool.
4. Beat the eggs and sugar until lighter in color and texture, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the melted butter.
5. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Gently stir the flour
mixture into the egg mixture. Add lemon zest and milk and stir until batter is smooth.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth top with a spatula.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
8. Let cake cool for 10 minutes before sliding a knife
around the edge and removing the sides of the pan. Let cool to room temperature.
Balsamic strawberries & topping
1. Hull the strawberries and cut them into thirds lengthwise. Place them in a bowl and toss with sugar, balsamico, salt, vanilla and lemon zest. Cover the bowl and let stand for 30 minutes until the berries release their juices. Toss every now and then.
2. Prick holes in the cake with a toothpick and spoon some of the juices from the berries on top of the cake.
3. Whip the cream with the sugar to soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream on top of the cake. Spoon strawberries on top and decorate with some mint leaves. Drizzle any leftover “juice” on top of the cake.
