Rabbit Shortcake
click on the above image for the original recipe!
Ingredients (makes one 15cm diameter cake)
Sponge Cake
- 2 medium-size eggs
- 60g caster/white sugar
- 2 teaspoons milk
- 60g flour
- 20g melted unsalted butter (melt in a microwave or with a double boiler)
Decoration
- 200mL fresh cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons caster/white sugar
- 1 pack (approx. 300g) strawberries
- 2 chocolate pens (one pink, one chocolate)
- Your favorite kind of jam
Preparation
Bring the eggs to room temperature. Sift the flour. Line a round cake pan with non-stick baking parchment and preheat the oven to 170℃. See here for more information.
Steps
- In a bowl, add eggs and sugar and mix gently with a hand mixer.
- Add water to a frying pan and heat to about 50℃ (when small bubbles start to appear), then place the bowl in the hot water bath and beat with a hand mixer. When the mixture reaches about 36℃, remove it from the water bath.
★ Ichika's Advice ★
The key is to warm the mixture in the water bath! If the temperature of the water bath is too high, the mixture will scramble, so be careful! - Whisk (2) vigorously by hand until it forms ribbons when it falls from the whisk.
- Add milk to (3) and combine. Add half of the flour and mix with a rubber spatula until no flour is visible.
★ Ichika's Advice ★
I tend to get excited and mix a lot, but don't overmix it! - Add the remaining flour and mix thoroughly with a rubber spatula, taking care to scrape the bottom of the bowl.
- Carefully add the melted butter to (5) and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan. Lift the pan up 10 to 20cm, then gently drop it to release any air bubbles.
- Bake at 170℃ for 20 to 25 minutes. The cake is done when it is bouncy in the center. Cool the cake upside-down on a cooling rack with the baking parchment still attached.
(To store, wrap the cake tightly with plastic wrap with the baking parchment still attached, and refrigerate.) - Remove the baking parchment from the sponge cake and cut it in half horizontally.
★ Ichika's Advice ★
You can use toothpicks as guides to make it easier to cut straight! - Add fresh cream and sugar to a bowl. Set the bottom of the bowl in an ice bath and whisk until it forms very soft peaks. Set aside 1/3 of the whipped cream to put in the refrigerator.
- Whisk the remaining cream until it forms soft peaks. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
- Place the first sponge cake on a plate and pipe the cream on top.
- Arrange the strawberries on top of (12). If the strawberries are big, cut them in half or thinly slice them.
- Add more cream on top of the strawberries, then place the second layer of cake on top. Do not use all of the cream, because it will be needed for decorating. Store the remaining cream in the refrigerator.
- Spread the refrigerated cream from earlier (10) over the surface of the cake. Use a rubber spatula to smooth it out.
- Pipe the remaining (14) cream on top in a rabbit shape.
★ Ichika's Advice ★
If you use a bamboo skewer to sketch a rabbit shape on the cake beforehand, it will look better! - Warm up the chocolate pens in hot water, cut off the tip and draw the ears with pink and the eyes and nose with chocolate.
- Make a cornet and fill it with jam. Cut a small opening at the tip and draw a ribbon.
- Decorate with more whipped cream, then top with strawberries.
Key Point: You can use a store-bought sponge cake and start decorating from step (9).
