Strawberries & Cream Chiffon Cake

Strawberries and Cream Chiffon Cake

Hello! I realised that I have been cooking and baking a lot but I haven't had the time to sort out all the photos and blog! Really need to get more organised. I guess it is hard to stick to a schedule when you are on vacation but at the same time there should not be any excuses.I also need to compile a collage of all the photos of food that I have consumed in the past 3 weeks or so. Maybe, maybe not - it is a scary thing when you look back at the amount of food that you ate! Perhaps ignorance is really bliss in this context.

Enough of that, remember my previous post on the Original Chiffon Cake? Well, I got an idea, also from the same book, to take the cake a step further and make it into a light strawberries and cream chiffon cake. Oh look at that, isn't it perfect for afternoon tea?

The recipe for the cake is identical, so do refer to that post for the full recipe and details. You will see that the cake itself is very easy to bake. You will just need to spend a bit more time decorating it, however, it is just whipped cream so it's not that much of an extra effort. As with most things, the extra effort will pay off I assure you.

In essence, the method for making this cake is quite basic. Once baked, the chiffon cake is sliced and the tops are brushed with a Cointreau infused sugar syrup. Thereafter, both layers are topped with whipped cream and place strawberries on the layer to be used as the bottom half of the cake. After sandwiching both layers of the cake together, the whole cake is covered with more whipped cream. Once completely covered, a small palette knife or teaspoon is used to make small indentations all over for decorative purposes. 

I do hope that you give this recipe a go, it's certainly a very impressive looking cake that does not take too much effort. Perfect for any party or as a gift, whatever the occasion may be, I am sure you will impress everyone!

Recipe for Strawberries and Cream Chiffon Cake
(refer to this post for the Chiffon Cake Recipe)

For Decoration

500ml Whipping Cream/Double Cream (whipped)
1 small punnet of Fresh Strawberries 
1 Tbsp Cointreau
25gm Sugar
50ml Water

Method
1. Once the cake is baked, invert it onto a big icing tip and leave to cool. While it is cooling, you can prepare the Cointreau syrup as well as the strawberries and cream for decorating.

Cooling the Chiffon Cake

2. For the Cointreau syrup, put the sugar and water in a small pot and bring to the boil stirring as you go. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Add in the tablespoon of Cointreau once the syrup has cooled down. 

3. Next, take half the amount of Strawberries, hull them and cut into half. These will be used for the centre of the cake. Then, pour the Cream into a big mixing bowl and whisk until it forms soft peaks. Set aside or refrigerate until you need to use it.

4. Carefully remove the baked Chiffon Cake from the tin and slice the cake into half.

Sliced Chiffon Cake and Strawberries and Cream, ready for decorating

5. Brush the tops of the cake with the Cointreau syrup. Next, spread the whipped cream over both halves of the cake and top off your bottom piece with the sliced strawberries, arranging them in a circle on top of the layer that is to be the bottom half of the cake.

Centre Pieces, to be sandwiched together

6. Sandwich both halves of the cake together. Now, for decorating the outer part of the cake. The cake is very high so use a big palette knife to spread the whipped Cream generously all over the cake. Don't forget to cream the hole in the centre of the cake! You can omit it, but I think for completeness you should cover it with cream too.

7. Once you have generously covered the whole cake with cream, smooth it out with a palette knife. Then using a smaller palette knife or teaspoon, start making little indentations around the cake. Make them in vertical lines down the sides of the cake, and where possible, try to make them as straight as you can.

8. Once done, top off your masterpiece with fresh whole Strawberries.

Voila!