Strawberry Cake

Summertime is strawberry time! Especially now, when we are in the peak of strawberry season, there is nothing better than a fruity strawberry cake. The classic pastry version consists of three layers: A fluffy sponge dough, a creamy vanilla pudding and the fresh strawberries.
The first thing to do is to make the dough for the base. But first, here’s a crucial tip that will make your baking life much easier: Weigh and prepare all the ingredients before you start baking. That way, you only have to grab the right ingredient! But back to the sponge cake: First we separate the eggs and beat the egg whites with the sugar and a pinch of salt until stiff. Now briefly fold in the egg yolks with the mixer and finally carefully fold in the flour-baking powder mixture with a rubber spatula. The magic word “carefully” is crucial here, because we don’t want the laboriously folded-in air to be lost and the egg mixture to collapse. If there are no more flour pockets, the dough can go into the oven for about 25 minutes and then cool down a bit.
Vanilla custard is cooked similarly to a pudding from a bag, except that we make our own powder. All the ingredients are mixed in a bowl while the milk is heated with the vanilla. To keep the eggs from becoming scrambled, we skim off some hot milk and mix it into the “pudding powder”. Then everything goes into the pot and is brought to a boil until the mixture thickens nicely. The pudding is spread on the sponge cake while it is still hot and allowed to cool a bit.
In the last step, spread your strawberries on the vanilla cream. Spread a little red cake glaze on top and voilà: a strawberry cake ready for the confectioner, which you can eat wonderfully on the balcony or terrace in these summer temperatures.
Have fun baking it!
Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
For the sponge cake:
- 4 eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- 105 g sugar
- vanilla extract
- 160 g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the vanilla pudding:
- 500 ml milk
- vanilla extract
- 125 g sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 60 g flour
For the strawberry topping:
- 750 g strawberries
- 2 pck. red cake glaze
Instructions
For the sponge cake:
- Preheat oven to 160 °C convection oven or 180 °C top/bottom heat and line a springform pan with baking paper.
- Separate eggs and beat egg whites with salt and sugar until stiff. Fold in the egg yolks with a hand mixer.
- Sift flour and baking powder into beaten egg whites and fold in gently with a rubber spatula, just until no more flour pockets are visible. Pour into springform pan, smooth out and bake for about 25 minutes.
For the vanilla pudding:
- Heat the milk and vanilla extract. Thoroughly mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl.
- Just before the milk boils, add a ladle or two to the egg and flour mixture to temper it. Stir neatly and pour everything back into the simmering milk. Let simmer until pudding is thickened.
Assemble the cake:
- Place the sponge cake in a cake ring. Spread the custard on top while still warm and let cool slightly. Wash and halve the strawberries, then spread them on the pudding. Prepare the icing according to package instructions and pour over the strawberries.