Vanilla Sponge Cake with Strawberries

Yesterday was the birthday of my husband and he is such a traditional guy… meaning … every year, he wants the same exact cake; a simply white vanilla cake with strawberries. I, on the other hand, am a nontraditional one and love to change a little something every time I make his cake… I change it just enough, so he doesn’t feel much of the difference… For example last year, I add a lemon essence to the cake… The year before that, I’ve used blueberries and raspberries as extras… and this year I’ve made a sponge cake and add some almonds. I wanted to add a little rum syrup to the sponge cake… but I’ve got lazy… maybe next year.

The magic in sponge cake is in the egg whites. No need for baking powder, the eggs will make the magic happen. This type of cake result into a quite airy and fluffy one, perfect to receive those thick layers of whipped cream on it. The almond touch will bring a crunch to the cake and don’t forget to add lots of strawberries in the middle layer.

Let’s make that birthday cake!

Vanilla Sponge Cake with Strawberries

Ingredients

• plenty of strawberries! (min 40)
• 700ml cream
• 100g of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 200g of slices almonds

Sponge cake

• 250g (1 cup) white flour
• 250g (1 cup) sugar
• 6 eggs (separated)
• 200ml milk
• 100ml sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp salt

Directions

Sponge cake

Bring oven to 180°C (350F)

1. In a bowl, mix the 6 egg yolks with the sugar until light yellow
2. In another big bowl, mix the whites until dense and fluffy
3. Add the vanilla, milk and oil to the yolks, mix
4. Add the whites to the mixture with a spatula, try to mix gently until homogene
5. Pass the flour through a sieve, in 4-5 separate times, into the eggs mixture, each time, mix gently with the spatula (need to keep the air from the egg whites)
6. Finish with a touch of salt (yes, very important even in sweets)
7. Add the mixture in 2 (9inch wide) cake mold, I did it in only 1…(doubles the cooking time)
8. Cook about 25 minutes (in 2 molds) or 50 minutes (in one) check if it’s well cooked by inserting a toothpick.
9. Let cool 15 minutes before cutting the sponge cake

The grand finale

1. Cut the cake so you’ll get 2 flat and even parts
2. In a big bowl, add the cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar and whip it until fluffy
3. Wash the strawberries, keep the good looking ones for the top part and the less lucky ones for the middle part of the cake
4. Install the bottom part of your cake on the serving plate, add whipped cream, then cut strawberries and again a bit of whipped cream
5. Add the second layer of sponge cake and cover  the whole cake with the whipped cream
6. Add gently the sliced almonds to the side
7. Top with the strawberries and voilà!

Enjoy!