Tag: fruit

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is a perfect mix between the classic American strawberry shortcake and angel food cake. Paired with fresh strawberries and light and fluffy homemade whipped cream! Best served 24 hours after assembly!

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is my favorite go-to party cake. It’s a crowd pleaser, especially among adult crowds.

(this cake recipe is being posted on my birthday because it’s one of my more favorite cakes in the entire world!!)

It’s best served after being set overnight, as the cream, cake, and fruits get a good time to mix flavors.

The recipe doesn’t require anything special as far as ingredients go. It’s all about the technique!

Cake

You’ll want to separate your egg yolks from the whites. When you do this, make sure none of your yolks leak into the whites. Any fat in the egg white will cause it to have trouble while whipping up.

Once the egg white reach a frothy state, begin to drizzle in the sugar while you keep whipping.

Whip until you reach medium to stiff peaks and the egg whites are white and glossy.

Mix together the egg yolks and vanilla extract.

Grab a spatula and fold half of the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Once that is fully incorporated, add the remaining egg whites into the mixture and fold in.

You want to be gentle when you do this and mix as little as possible. We are relying on the fluffy egg whites to keep this cake soft, the more you mix the more you pull air out of the egg whites.

Next, add the flour, baking powder, and baking powder and gently fold. Finally, add the milk and oil.

At this stage, you have two options. You can bake the cake in two even layers, or three. I would recommend three layers in an 8 x 8 in square pan. But 2 layers on a 8×8 works as well.

Bake at 320 for 14 mins and cool fully before you assemble.

Whipped Cream

This is a rather simple, straight forward homemade whipped cream recipe! All you’ll need is sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.

Whip the heavy cream and slowly add the sugar. Once you get to the 3 tbsp stage, taste the cream and see how much sweeter you want it to be. I prefer 5 tbsp. Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and mix well.

Assembly

Take your first layer of the cake (you can level your cakes if you want to / they didn’t rise evenly) and add a layer of the cream. Add 1/2 of the strawberries and add more cream to cover the berries. You should have used 1/3 of the cream.

Repeat the same assembly for the next layer using the remaining strawberries and another 1/3 of the cream!

Spread the remaining cream (reserve a small bit to fill in any gaps) on the top layer of the cake. At this stage your cake will look like this.

Trim about 1 cm off of the sides of the cake to expose the cross section of strawberries. Use any leftover cream to fill any gaps.

Save your trimmings and any extra cream! It’s still good to eat!

Cover and store in the fridge overnight for the flavors to fully develop! Always serve your Japanese Strawberry shortcake cold / chilled.

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake
Japanese Strawberry Shortcake
Print Recipe

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is a perfect mix between the classic American strawberry shortcake and angel food cake. Paired with fresh strawberries and light and fluffy homemade whipped cream! Best served 24 hours after assembly!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time14 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Japanese
Servings: 10 – 12 slices
Calories: 215kcal

Equipment

  • 8 x 8 Baking Pan (one is fine but two is preferable)

Ingredients

  • 1 Lbs Fresh Whole Strawberries

Cake

  • 4 Large Eggs
  • ⅔ Cup White Sugar
  • 1½ tsp Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste
  • 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Milk
  • ¾ Cup All Purpose Flour

Whipped Cream

  • 2 Cups Heavy Cream
  • 1½ tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 3-5 Tbsp White Sugar
  • Pinch Kosher Salt

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 320°.
  • Separate eggs whites and yolks (make sure you don't get any yolk in the white or the recipe won't work!)
  • Whip the egg whites and slowly drizzle the sugar into the whites until they reach a medium to stiff peak consistency.
  • Mix together the vanilla extract and egg yolks.
  • Fold in the egg whites into the yolks by folding half of the egg white mixture into the yolks, then fold the remaining the whites into egg mixture. Be gentle as you do this, you don't want to deflate the mixture.
  • Fold the all purpose flour and baking powder into the egg mixture gently.
  • Then mix in the vegetable oil and milk.
  • Line the 8 x 8 baking sheet with parchment paper and pour 1/3 of the batter into each of the trays.
  • This is a 3 layer cake, I had to bake the cake three times but the process will speed up if you have two of the 8 x 8 sheets. You want 1/3 of the batter in each go in the oven.
  • Bake for 14 – 16 minutes, the cake bakes very quickly but will still be a little soft and pale so take it to the 12 minute mark before you pull it from the oven. Let it take on a very pale golden color before you remove it.
  • Let the cakes cool fully before you ice and stack them.

Whipped Cream

  • Whip the heavy cream and slowly add sugar in until the cream takes on a thick consistency. Taste the cream once you get to the 3 tbsp make and add more if you want some.
  • Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and set aside while the cakes cool and you prep your strawberries.

Assembly

  • Rinse and thoroughly dry your strawberries. Cut the tops off and slice the regular sized ones in half and the large ones into quarters. Reserve few of your best looking strawberries for the top but don't cut them.
  • The cream needs to be split evenly between 3 sections, so be mindful as you frost the cake. The strawberries will be split between two.
  • Place down one layer of the cake and spread some of the cream on cake. Add half of the strawberries and spread more of the cream on top of the strawberries. Spread the cream to the edge of the cake. You should have used 1/2 of the cut strawberries and 1/3 of the cream.
  • Add the second layer of cake and repeat the above step.
  • Add the final layer of the cake and spread the remaining cream on the cake. You don't need to spread any cream on the side of the cake as we will be trimming the edges.
  • Once the top layer of cream is applied, trim about 1 cm of the cake off on each side so you can see perfect layers and cross sections of the cake on all four sides.
  • (Save the trimmings and enjoy them with any of the leftover cream!)
  • Place the remaining whole strawberries on the top of the cake and serve the next day. Don't use cut strawberries on the top because they will leak juices and mess up the cream.
  • This cake is best served after sitting and soaking for 24 hours!

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon Pound Cake is the best solution for citrus lovers! There’s lemon in every component of this recipe, it’s in the cake and in the glaze. Comes with a mixed berry compote to top the cake! (Starbucks Copycat!)

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Not only do I love Glazed Lemon Pound Cake on a normal occasion, but this recipe holds a dear place in my heart. I was testing this recipe the week that I was admitted into law school, so I consider it my congratulatory cake!

The first time I made it, it was a horrific mess. The cake rose too much and collapsed and it was soapy and coarse. It was also as hard as a rock. But I redeemed it, and I think this is one of my best recipes yet.

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Dare I say it, I think this is a pretty good copy cat to the Starbucks Lemon Pound Cake.

For the Lemon Pound Cake

It’s really important for this cake that all of your ingredients are room temperature. This will ensure that the cake rises and sets properly.

lemon pound cake ingredients

In your main mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly, for at least 30 seconds. This step is very important!

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Don’t whisk too hard, only until the yolks are properly incorporated. If you whisk too hard, you’ll incorporate too much air into the mixture which will affect how the cake rises.

cake without glaze

In a smaller bowl, set aside the fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. Take the time to squeeze the lemons by hand and zest your lemons. Don’t zest past the pale yellow color of the lemons, the white part is very bitter! You’ll need about 6 – 8 lemons for this recipe!

liquid ingredients

Cut the butter into smaller, tablespoon size pieces and place it in your main mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. On a low speed, incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients. It’ll end up looking like a lightly damp sand mixture.

  • butter
  • sand mixture

Add half of the liquid mixture and mix lightly. It will be a thick batter. Add the final half of the mixture and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Don’t mix it too high, it’ll also add too much air into the cake. Add in the lemon mixture and stir slowly until fully incorporated.

At this stage, the cake will take on a pale yellow color, it will be more yellow once it bakes and on camera, but there i1s the optional choice to add a touch of lemon coloring.

If you do this, use gel coloring and only a small toothpicks worth. Mix this in with a spatula.

lemon coloring

Lightly grease with butter and tap sugar into the bundt pan. This recipe serves 1 bundt pan or two standard loaf pans. The baking time will be around the same. Between 55 – 70 minutes. The large time variation tends to occur in large batches and varies oven to oven.

  • sugar pan
  • batter in pan

At the 55 minute mark and every few minutes after that, begin to check your cake with a cake tester. A toothpick or tester should come out clean when it is done.

finished lemon cake

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and letting cool fully. This can take up to an hour. Mine needed about 45 minutes.

cake on wire rack

For the Lemon Glaze

compote and lemon glaze for Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

No Lemon Pound Cake is complete without a Lemon Glaze!

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

The glaze is very simple! All you need is about 3.5 cups of powdered sugar and definitely 1/3 cup of lemon juice.

Start with the full amount of lemon juice and then add .5 cup of powdered sugar at a time. Mix thoroughly before adding more. Depending on your preferred consistency, you may want less or more than 3.5 cups powdered sugar.

FOr The Mixed Berry Compote

Lemon Glaze and Compote

This mixed berry compote is totally optional for the Glazed Lemon Pound Cake. The cake with its glaze is perfect on its own.

Ingredients for compote

All you have to do is throw everything into a saucepan and let it cook.

Cooking Compote for Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Assembly

Once the cake is fully cooled you can drizzle and spread the lemon glaze over it. Be patient with this and do it increments.

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

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Compote on Cake
Glazed Lemon Pound Cake
Print Recipe

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon Pound Cake is the best solution for citrus lovers! There's lemon in every component of this recipe, it's in the cake and in the glaze. Comes with a mixed berry compote to top the cake! (Starbucks Copycat!)
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 5 minutes
Cooling45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16
Calories: 250kcal

Equipment

  • 1 10 inch Bundt Pan or 2 Standard Loaf Tins
  • Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment or Hand Mixer

Ingredients

Lemon Pound Cake

  • 2½ Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 2½ Cups White Sugar
  • ½ tsp Kosher Salt
  • ½ tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 Cup Buttermilk no substitutes!
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 Cup Softened Unsalted Butter 2 sticks or 16 Tbsp
  • 4 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 2 Tbsp Lemon Zest

Lemon Glaze

  • 3.5 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • ⅓ Cups Lemon Juice

Mixed Berry Compote

  • 1 Cup Blueberries preferably frozen, fresh is ok
  • ½ Cup Chopped Strawberries preferably frozen, fresh is ok
  • 2 Tbsp White Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Water
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

Lemon Pound Cake

  • Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and tap sugar into a 10 inch bundt pan or 2 standard size loaf tins.
  • Measure out flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir thoroughly, about 30 seconds. Low speed setting.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Whisk only to incorporate the eggs but don't beat too hard or you will add unnecessary air into the mixture. Set aside
  • Juice lemons for 4 Tbsp, about 3 Lemons. Zest lemons for 2 Tbsp, about 6 lemons. You can put the juice and zest in the same bowl, set aside.
  • Cut the butter into smaller pieces and place into large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.
  • Cream the butter and the dry ingredients until well incorporated. It will look like lightly damp sand. This is the only time you should use a higher speed setting.
  • Add half the egg and buttermilk mixture and mix well. Low speed setting.
  • Add the final half of the egg mixture and mix well. Low speed setting.
  • Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well. Low speed setting.
  • Pour batter into the bundt pan or evenly between to two loaf tins and bake.
  • Cakes will need about 65 minutes in the oven but check regularly at the 55 minute mark.
  • Once the cake is out of the oven, run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Lemon Glaze

  • In a bowl with all the lemon juice, whisk in the powdered sugar in ½ cup increments.
  • Depending on your prefered consistency, you may want more or less. I used about 3.5 cups of powdered sugar.

Mixed Berry Compote

  • In a small saucepan, place the water, lemon juice, sugar, blueberries, and strawberries.
  • Cook until the berries soften and the juices cook down. A simmer to low boil should be enough.

Check out some of my other recipes!

Maple Spice Cookies

Chewy Maple Clove Cookies

Chewy, soft not too sweet with a good all spice-esque flavor! Maple Clove Cookies are super simple and sure to curb your sweet craving with just around 100 calories!

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