Sponge Cake with Vanilla Buttercream and Strawberry Filling

Serves 8

Ingredients:

For one 6 inch Sponge Cake:

1/2 C + 3.5 T all purpose flour

30g butter, melted and cooled

White mixture:

3 egg whites

1/3 C sugar

a pinch of salt

Yolk mixture:

3 egg yolks

3 tsp sugar

2 T milk

1 tsp vanilla

For  Strawberry Filling:

250 g strawberries, chopped

1/4 C sugar

1/4 C water

For Vanilla Buttercream:

100 g unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2.5 C powdered sugar

Method:

Sponge Cake:

1. Using an electric beater, whip the egg whites until foamy.
2. Add a pinch of salt, mix well.
3. Add sugar little by little and whip until soft peaks are formed (watch video tutorial for reference). Before each addition, make sure the previously added sugar is dissolved.
4. Whip until the whites start to approach stiff peaks - the peaks should hold their shape and should have a slight tilt at the tips.
5. Set aside.
6. Whip the yolks with the sugar until light and airy
7. Add milk and vanilla. Mix well.
8. Mix one third of the whites into the yolks until well combined.
9. Sift in half of the flour. Fold gently.
10. Fold in another third of the whites gently without deflating the whites.
11. Fold in the rest of the flour gently.
12. Fold in the remaining whites.
13. Take a spoonful of the batter and add it to the cooled, melted butter. Mix until fully combined.
14. Fold the butter mixture into the batter.
15. Pour into a greased, floured and parchment-lined pan and smooth with a spatula.
16. Spin the pan on the counter and drop it from a height of about 8 inches - this step will remove any big air bubbles in the batter.
17. Bake at 180 C for 25 to 30 min.
18. Once out of the oven, cool the cake upside down on a wire rack while it is still in the pan. This will help the steam to escape so that the cake doesn't sink in the middle.
19. After five minutes, remove the pan and parchment paper. Cool the cake the right side up.

Strawberry Filling:

1. Chop strawberries into tiny pieces.
2. Heat the sugar and water in a pan until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add in the chopped strawberries and cook until the mixture is thick and sticky. Make sure the berries hold their shape and don't turn soft and mushy.
4. Cool completely before using on cake.

Vanilla Buttercream:

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add in vanilla. Mix well.
3. Sift in the powdered sugar a little by little until fully combined. 

To assemble:

1.  For the layers, you can either split one cake into two, or use two individual sponge cakes.
2. Level the cakes by removing the domes on top.
3. Place the first layer on a turntable and apply a layer of buttercream
4. Fill a piping bag with buttercream and pipe a thick ring around the edge.
5. Fill the inside of the ring with half of the strawberry filling.
6. Place the second layer on top of the first layer.
7. Apply a thin layer of crumb coat on the sides and top of the cake. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
8. After 10 minutes, take the cake out of the refrigerator and apply a second, thicker layer of frosting. Smooth the buttercream out to your liking.
9. With a piping bag fitted with a star tip, pipe some designs around the top edges of the cake. 
10. Spread the remaining filling on top.
11. Enjoy!