Sponge Cake with Strawberry Mousse [Birthday Cake]

I don’t know about you but a sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries is a summer classic for me and I have made it many times. This time however I wanted to add a twist to it and instead of adding slices/pieces of strawberries on top of whipped cream, I wanted to mix everything together to make strawberry mousse. The idea was really good - the mousse was delicious - the only issue was that it wouldn’t be stiff enough so I had to add gelatin but obviously that was not a big problem.

While I was making this strawberry cake I also wanted to try out a cake decorating idea I had seen somewhere else some time ago. I am really happy it worked for me perfectly the first time I made it, as I had not seen the decoration made before. However I think it may have been beginner’s luck and when I make it next time, I will certainly take extra steps to ensure the decoration is not damaged in the future, while I open the tin (details on how to make the pattern on the edge – below). Although I made it without any special occasion, I think it looks great enough to be a birthday cake.

INGREDIENTS (for 8-10 portions):

Cake:

4 eggs, white and yolks separated,

100g icing sugar,

150g plain flour,

0.5 tsp baking powder

Mousse:

300g strawberries (plus some more small, equal size strawberries for decoration),

6 tbsp icing sugar,

2 heaped tsp gelatin,

5 tbsp hot water,

300ml double cream,

Additionally: 1 new plastic document folder.

METHOD:

1. Preheat an oven to 180 Celsius degrees (160 degrees for fan ovens).
2. Put a piece of baking paper on the bottom of a removable-bottom 18cm diameter cake tin (no need to cut a disc out, the edges can stick out as it will be easier to take the sponge out).
3. Put the egg whites into a big bowl, whisk them with an electric mixer till stiff, slowly add the icing sugar and beat a bit longer.
4. Mix the egg yolks with a fork (just to break them), add them to the whisked whites and gently stir.
5. Gradually add the flour mixed with the baking powder and gently stir with a spoon or spatula.
6. Pour the batter to the tin, put it to the hot oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until an inserted wooden stick comes out dry.
7. Liquidize the strawberries, press them through a fine sieve to remove the seeds, add 3 tbsp of icing sugar and stir.
8. Whip the cream with electric mixer until light and fluffy, add the rest of icing sugar (3 tbsp) and stir well.
9. Mix the gelatin with the hot water in a cup. If it doesn’t dissolve easily, put the cup into a bowl with boiling water and stir it constantly.
10. Add a few spoons of the liquidized strawberries to the dissolved gelatin, stir it and pour it to the rest of strawberries, stir again and gently combine with the whipped cream.
11. Take the cold sponge out from the baking tin and cut horizontally in half.
12. Cut open the plastic folder alongside its bottom, then cut in half along the longer side so you end up with 2 long strips.
13. Line the sides of the tin with the plastic strips overlapping each other and place the bottom half of the cake back in the tin.
14. Cut the strawberries in half and start placing them one by one on the edge of the cake so that the cut part touches the plastic lining the side of the tin. While you do it, press the strawberries gently into the cake so they stay vertical.
15. Pour the mousse on top of the cake and spread it making sure the strawberries stay in place (next to the edge of the tin). You can keep a few tablespoons of the mousse and spread it on top.
16. Place carefully the top part of the cake on the mousse and decorate it with strawberries or the leftover mousse.
17. Put the cake to a fridge to set for at least 2 hours.
18. Before serving, take the cake out from the fridge, open and lift the side of the tin and gently remove the plastic strips. This way you can be sure the edges and the pattern will not be damaged.