Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake - introducing the Kenwood Chef Sense Mixer
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The long story short, I made cake... It's not that I don't usually do (in actual fact, the struggle to churn out stuff amidst a busy schedule is truly daunting) - BUT I make exceptions. And when someone delivers a spanking new Kenwood Chef Sense KVC5000T to your doorstep, you whip it out from its box with the enthusiasm of a thousand horses before a chariot, and proceed to test out its speed control with the simplest of ingredients such as cream and eggs. The smooth whirring of the motor as it fluffs up billowy mounds of cream, the epitome of true ecstasy.
Inspired by the ethereal 'The Short' I had at the new outlet of Henri Charpentier located in Orchard Central; I went forth to recreate the treat at home... sans the assistance of French cream no gorgeously similar strawberries to play with. It's down to basics with a genoise sponge (which apparently I haven't baked in a long time) - whole egg cake puffed up via the powers of a stabilized sugar and egg mixture without the additional boosts of chemical leaveners. This is usually done over the bain-marie (aka water bathe) till 'ribbon stage' before folding in the dry ingredients with care at the end.
The result, a pillowy mound with consistently neat pockets of air which take to the sugar syrup you have prepared (I did a stroth rum variation) like a fat kid to cake. Layer generous amounts of strawberries and partially sweetened cream in between and you've got a treat for all ages. Judging from how the cake disappeared from the fridge in a matter of 2 days, I conclude that it was a hit with the usually judgmental family.
Strawberry Shortcake (makes an 8” cake)
For the sponge cake
- 40g butter
- 30ml whole milk
- 4 large eggs
- 120g caster sugar
- 120g cake flour
For the syrup
- 50ml water
- 60g caster sugar
- 1 tblpoon of Stroth Rum
For the Cream
- 420ml whipping cream
- 30g icing sugar
For decoration
- 450g strawberries
- Blueberries
How this is done:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature.
3. Grease and line your 8” cake pan
4. Prepare a double boiler (in other words, simply grab a pot, fill it with water and bring it to a
gentle simmer); afterwards set your mixing bowl over the top.
5. Melt your butter and whisk in the milk
6. In your Kenwood Chef Sense mixer bowl, crack the eggs and whisk to break up the yolks and
whites
7. Add 120g sugar and whisk to combine
8. Put your egg mixture over the double boiler and whisk continously till the eggs reach 45
degrees celsius.
9. Take the mixing bowl off the bain-marie and dry off the bottom before loading it on to your
mixer and whisk it on full speed till the mixture is fluffy and has reached “ribbon stage”. (p.s.
the monster machine took only about 2 mins to get this process done)
10. When the batter has tripled in volume, remove it from the stand mixer. Add half of the
flour (which you have to painstakingly sift twice or thrice for best results) and fold gently to
incorporate.
11. Add the rest of the flour and fold it in, making sure not to deflate your mixture
12. Using a spatula, fold in a little bit of the lightened egg mix to the warm butter and milk
mixture to loosen it before folding it all in with the batter.
13. Once all incorporated, pour the batter gently into the center of the cake pan, making sure to
give it a few good taps to get rid of air bubbles in the batter.
14. Bake the cake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees celsius.
15. Once the skewer comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and release the cake
immediately from the sides of the pan with a sharp knife.
16. Allow it to cool on the counter for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan and allowing it
to cool to room temperature right side up, with a slightly damp towel covering it to retain
moisture.
Assembly
17. Slice your strawberries. Making sure to divide the loot into half, reserving some for
decorative purposes
18. Make the syrup, combining all the ingredients (except the alcohol) into a pot and heating it
over the strove till the sugars are dissolved. Add in whatever alcohol you desire once the mix
is cool
19. Whip up your cold cream in a mixing bowl till thickened and at a soft peak stage
20. Slice you cake in half horizontally. Place the bottom of the cake on the cake circle and brush
syrup on top and sides of the bottom layer to keep it moist.
21. Spread a thin layer of cream out on the cake and place the strawberries in a fanned out
shape spanning from the center of the cake.
22. Spread more cream over the strawberries to attain a flushed level and then place the other
sponge cake over the top. Brush the syrup over the top and sides of the sponge cake too!
23. Cover the cake with cream on all sides as well as the top and decorate as you desire!
And there you have it, Strawberry Shortcake, best enjoyed with a cup of tea or for hosting visitors at your humble abode anytime of day! All thanks to Kenwood Appliances for sending me this amazing Kenwood Chef Sense to play with!
Certainly beats my run down hand mixer, which has sadly been reduced to only one whisk attachment after a rather unfortunate accident.
It's available at leading electrical retailers and department stores, at promotional prices of $749 (original price: $899) for Chef Sense (4.6 litres) and $899 (original price: $1099) for Chef Sense XL (6.7 litres). Promotion runs till the 14th August'16.
Meanwhile stay tuned to my page for more baking escapades!
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1 comment:
This looks amazing! I'm very tempted to get this mixer. Christmas please come sooner.
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