What do you say we take advantage of the strawberry season to make a delicious sponge cake? Since I have no doubt the answer is a resounding "Yes", because you’ll easily get a delicious moist cake, I invite you to take good note of the recipe for this vanilla cake with whipped strawberry ganache. I’m sure you’re going to love it!
This vanilla cake, as is, has a wonderful taste and aroma. But the magnificent peak of the whipped strawberry cream elevates it so much it almost seems like a divine creation. You’ll see it’s very easy to make and you only need to keep in mind preparing the strawberry ganache in advance, since it must rest in the fridge for at least 6 hours before whipping it. Ideally make it the day before and whip it once the cake has been baked.
To get a perfect cake, I recommend baking the cake batter in a perforated pan. The Buyer perforated stainless steel removable pan, for example, is ideal for these preparations. Its perforations provide even baking, a moist interior, and a crispier exterior. Also, its easy opening and closing is of great help when lining and unmolding it. And its rectangular, long and narrow shape gives us a cake with a wonderful finish, ideal for portioning.
The aroma it leaves in the kitchen while baking is simply heavenly. Try it and tell me, because I’m convinced this vanilla cake with whipped strawberry ganache will become a staple in your recipe book, just as it has in mine.
Ingredients
For the whipped strawberry ganache
- 180 g of cleaned strawberries, hulled
- 10 g of sugar
- 50 g + 140 g of whipping cream (minimum 35% fat)
- 120 g of white chocolate
For the sponge cake
- 150 g of softened butter
- 120 g of icing sugar
- 2 eggs
- 40 g of honey
- 240 g of all-purpose flour
- Seeds from 1 vanilla pod
- 3 g of salt
- 6 g of baking powder (like "Royal")
- 200 g of liquid cream
For the soaking syrup
- 100 g of water
- 60 g of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder (you can use vanilla extract)
Preparation
For the whipped strawberry ganache (prepare the day before)
- Chop the strawberries, put them in a saucepan with the sugar and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes.
- After that time, blend them well with an immersion blender. Let it cool slightly and strain it. The result should be a smooth purée without lumps or seeds.
- Finely chop the white chocolate and put it in a bowl.
- Heat the 50 g of cream until it boils and pour it immediately over the white chocolate. Stir well until fully incorporated.
- Add the strawberry purée and mix well until combined.
- Pour the remaining cream (140 g) into the bowl and fold gently until fully integrated. Cover with cling film directly on the surface and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
For the sponge cake
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C.
- Put the softened butter, the icing sugar and the honey in the bowl of your Kitchenaid mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix well until all ingredients are combined. The mixture should be creamy.
- Add the vanilla seeds and the eggs and mix again until well incorporated.
- Mix the flour with the salt and baking powder, and sift. Add them to the cream and stir with the paddle until fully integrated.
- Line your Buyer perforated stainless steel removable pan with baking paper and distribute the cake batter.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes at 170 °C.
- When ready, remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool a few minutes on a wire rack before unmolding.
For the soaking syrup
- Put all the syrup ingredients in a saucepan and heat over low heat until it boils.
- Turn off the heat and set aside.
Assembling the cake
- Remove the ganache from the fridge and place it in the bowl of your Kitchenaid mixer. Attach the whisk and whip at medium speed until the ganache has a consistency similar to whipped cream. Watch it at all times while whipping, because if you overwhip it, it can split quickly.
- Place the nozzle in the piping bag (you can use whichever you prefer), put the whipped ganache into the bag and set aside.
- Prick the cake in several places with a long skewer or toothpick, and brush it with the soaking syrup.
- Decorate the cake with the strawberry ganache so the cake looks nice and pretty.
- Serve with a good coffee or a cup of your favorite tea.
Suggestions
- Did you know you can always have strawberry purée ready for this cake or any other? Take advantage of strawberry season to make it and freeze it. You just need to clean the strawberries and remove the stems (with this strawberry huller, it’s done in no time!), cut them and blend them well. Strain them to remove the seeds and freeze in portions, preferably vacuum-sealed.
