Strawberry Cloud Cake

Okay… I know the word “cloud” is a little bit overused in this food blog of mine. But how else do you describe a cake that is so incredibly light, airy, fluffy and soft.

Strawberries are in season at the moment, and I’m not quite sure how I ended up with more than one kilogram of strawberries last weekend. I think I must have got a bit carried away

Anyway, I thought I will make a strawberry chiffon cake to celebrate the start of the strawberry season. As mentioned here before, and to give a quick recap on tips to make a successful chiffon cake, it is important that you use a non non-stick tube cake pan (aka angel cake pan). Do not line or butter/grease your cake pan. And cool the cake completely, while still in the cake pan, upside down. More details on this blog post.

This is one of my favourite cakes. The strawberry chiffon cake is cottony soft and light, as chiffon cakes should be, with a hint of strawberry flavour. The cake is good on its own. But to boost the strawberry flavour in this cake, I have made it into a two-layer cake, brushed the cake layer generously with the leftover strawberry puree, added slices of fresh strawberries between the layers, and covered the cake with strawberry chantilly cream. This is my idea of strawberry cloud.



Strawberry Cloud Cake
(Strawberry chiffon cake adapted from cookpad.)

Makes 17cm cake

For the strawberry puree
500 grams fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons caster sugar

For the strawberry chiffon cake
4 egg yolks
45 grams caster sugar
30ml vegetable oil
70ml strawberry puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
red/pink food colouring (optional)
100 grams cake flour, sifted
5 egg whites
45 grams caster sugar

For the strawberry chantilly cream
500 ml thickened cream (35 percent fat), cold
40 grams caster sugar
2 tablespoons strawberry puree, cold

To make strawberry puree:
Stir together strawberries and sugar. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Puree the strawberries with the juices in a blender or food processor. Strain the strawberry mixture through a sieve into a bowl, pressing down with the back of a spoon and discarding the solids. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make strawberry chiffon cake:
Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius (or 150 degrees celsius fan-forced).

Whisk egg yolks and 45 grams sugar until pale and creamy. Add oil, strawberry puree, vanilla extract and food colouring and whisk to incorporate. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

In a clean bowl with a clean and dry whisk (or an electric stand mixer), whisk egg whites until foamy. Add half the remaining sugar and continue beating for a few minutes. Add remaining sugar and beat until egg whites are glossy and stiff peaks form.

Add one-third of meringue into egg yolk mixture and fold in lightly using a spatula. Add remaining meringue and fold to incorporate completely.

Pour batter into tube cake pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. When cake is done, remove from oven and turn it over, leaving it to cool. Once cake has cooled completely, carefully run spatula around the sides of the cake to loosen it before inverting onto a wire rack.

To make strawberry chantilly cream:
Combine cream, sugar and strawberry puree in a clean bowl. Using an electric mixer, whip cream at medium speed until stiff peaks form but cream is still smooth

To assemble:
Split cake into two layers. Brush strawberry puree on one side of cake layers. Spread strawberry chantilly cream onto cake, then top with sliced strawberries. Press second layer of cake over and press down lightly. Cover cake with strawberry chantilly cream. Refridgerate for at least 2 hours before serving.