Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is what I baked this month with the Cake Slice. I chose this recipe because it calls for a sponge cake, my chance to test one. The recipe also uses gelatin to stabilize the whip cream, also something I've been wanting to test.
The sponge cake took a little longer to bake than the time it called for, but I was happy with the outcome. The texture and flavor of the sponge was good. I skipped making the syrup only because I decided to macerate the strawberries and use up all the juice from them to soak the cake with. I had about 1/2 cup of juices from the strawberries, I suggest using a full cup of juice, the cake texture is strong enough to hold the liquid, and the cake does need the moisture.
Making the whip cream was a challenge. I was unsuccessful incorporating the gelatin. The gelatin clumped up immediately after mixing it with the cream. I had an awful mess trying to strain the gelatin out. I refused to let the whipped cream to go to waste. I think the problem was that the gelatin slightly set after leaving it to cool the ten minutes it called for. I'm not going to give up though, I really want to be able to learn this process. I love icing cakes in whipped cream and stabilizing it would make icing the cakes a lot easier.
I was so frustrated when I was done with the cake that I didn't realize I didn't take a picture of the finished cake, but I did take one of my slice.
Not my favorite Strawberry Shortcake recipe, but not a total fail either. It was actually better the next day, the juices softened the cake a bit more, and the flavors got to merry a little longer.
