Christmas Strawberry Shortcake

As Japan enters into December, many towns and cities across the country will suddenly be completely covered in a Christmas atmosphere. Many people will find their mood improved surrounded by the sparkly and shiny surroundings. Furthermore, if we're talking about Christmas in Japan, a strawberry shortcake is a dessert that goes hand-in-hand.

If you're wanting to experience just a little of Japan's Christmas mood in your home country, how about making a Japanese strawberry shortcake yourself? It might seem a little difficult at first, but once you understand the techniques, you'll be making a delicious and spongy shortcake in no time at all! How about trying it this Christmas?

Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients：

Square Baking Tray： 18 cm x 18 cm

●Spongecake：

• Egg...3
• Sugar...80 g
• Cake Flour...80 g
• Butter...20 g

●Syrup

• Granulated Sugar..2 Tablespoons
• Water...2 Tablespoons
• Kirsch Alcohol (If you have it)...1 Tablespoon

●Decorations：

１． Whipped Cream

• Fresh Cream...200 cc
• Granulated Sugar...2 Tablespoons
• Vanilla Essence...To taste

２． Strawberries...1 Pack

Preparations：

・Baking Tray Preparations：
Place some parchment paper over your baking tray. If you don't have any, line the tray with butter, and sprinkle some flour over the top, removing any extra flour.

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe：

●Spongecake：

1. Crack the egg into a bowl, add sugar, and beat well. ＊For a hand mixer, place the egg mixture it then turn the device on. Start slow and allow the egg mix and sugar to mix well.
2. Once the sugar and egg wash has mixed well, heat the bowl in warm water while beating. Ensure you're not just simply beating, but making big swings with your whisk, and allowing air to get into the mix. The mixture should reach a temperature just higher than that of your own skin, and become soft and full. ＊Through heating, the foaming should stabilize.
3. Take the bowl off the heat, and continue to beat. The final mixture should fall similar to a ribbon shape once you lift it up, as you move the whisk, it should be in a spiral shape. ＊If you don't beat to this consistency, the spongecake will not bake well.
4. Once you have completed your mixture, take a spatula, and slowly add the cake flour into the mixture. Mix quickly and well to ensure no powder remains and the air beaten into the mixture doesn't leave. Some advice here is to ensure you fold with the spatula, flipping from the bottom of the mixture while turning the bowl.
5. Add in melted butter. Similar to the cake flour, ensure the butter is mixed well into the whole mixture.
6. Pour the mixture naturally from above. Take the remaining mixture using a spatula and add it to the ends of the baking tray. Remove any air from the mixture in the tray, and ensure the final mixture is flat in the tray. Heat for 25-30 minutes in an oven pre-heated to 170-180 degrees.

●Syrup：

Mix the granulated sugar with the water and add in the vanilla essence.

●Decorations / Whipped Cream: 

1. Add the fresh cream into a bowl, mix in the granulated sugar and vanilla essence, then place the bowl into another bowl filled with ice water and beat well. It's fine to beat heard in the beginning, but we recommend beating until thick.
   ＊Hand mixers are quite fast, so ensure to take caution to not overbeat the mixture. If you're not using much mixture, we highly recommend avoiding using a hand mixer.
2. After beating, the mixture should have a high viscosity. Leaving for too long will cause the mixture to become hard very quickly, so caution is required while beating.
3. Once the mixture has been beaten to the point where when you lift it up it forms a mountain as it falls, you can stop mixing.

Cut the sponge cake in half and pour over the syrup, whipped cream, place strawberries cut in half on top, and ensure the cream is flat. Place more syrup on the top half, more cream, and more strawberries, and you're done!