Lemon Soaked Strawberries

• Bakers Note: try using freeze-dried strawberries that are organic. They have the best flavor and are also super red, so it really shines through in the sponge cake.
   
• In a small bowl, add 40 grams of freeze-dried organic strawberries. Try to break them up into smaller pieces. You can either use a small scissor or break them up with your hands, but avoid having large pieces.
   
• Add 50 grams of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the bowl with the freeze dried strawberries. Combine until all the strawberry pieces are moist. Set aside while you prepare the Vanilla Sponge Cake batter and let the lemon juice soak into the strawberries.
   

Strawberry Sponge Cake
 

• Baker Note; When preheating the oven for my cakes, always use the ‘top and bottom heat’ setting. Please avoid using the fan-forced option, unless otherwise specified.
   
• Twenty minutes or longer before baking, Set your oven rack in the center of the oven, And preheat the oven to 170C°/ 338F°. Using an oven thermometer will ensure even baking results each time, as every oven is different. Always go with the reading on your oven thermometer rather than the temperature you set on your oven.
   
• Grease your wire racks lightly with butter and set them aside; this step will prevent the cake from sticking to the wire rack.
   
• Use a small piece of cold butter, and gently rub the cold butter over the bottom and the sides of two 20×5 cm (8×2-inch) round baking pans. This technique of using a small piece of cold butter ensures an even, ultra-thin coating. Place a circle of parchment in the bottom of the pan. Add a tablespoon of all-purpose flour and tap it around the inside of the pan until all the buttered surface is covered 100%, then turn the pan upside down over a sink and tap out the excess flour. If you don’t have two pans, it’s okay to bake the cakes in stages; The cake batter will be kept at room temperature until needed.
   
• Bakers note: The egg white to yolk ratio in an egg can vary to such a degree. Therefore, weighing the egg yolks and egg whites as mentioned in the recipe and adding or reducing them if needed is advisable.
   
• Bakers Note: All-purpose flour with 8-9% gluten is ideal for tender sponge cake layers; I use 9%. Although 10% works, less gluten is preferable. You can enhance tenderness by mixing in potato starch. Potato starch is my secret ingredient in this vanilla sponge cake. It's very pure and feels silky between the fingers. Do not substitute potato starch for cornstarch. They may look the same and behave similarly, but potato starch is lighter than cornstarch, bakes more thoroughly in cake batter, and yields a softer sponge cake.
   
• Combine 110-gram all-purpose flour, 50-gram potato starch, and 1 teaspoon baking powder in a medium bowl. One of the secrets to the incredible pillow-y lightness here is in the sifting of the all-purpose flour and potato starch three times. This will create the aeration you need to produce light, fluffy sponge cake results.
   
• Bakers note; Wipe your mixer bowl with a paper towel dampened with a little lemon juice to eliminate any trace of grease so that the meringue whips up well.
   
• In a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, put 210 grams of egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar; whip the meringue on medium speed until the meringue is white, glossy, and holds a soft peak before adding any sugar. This allows the meringue to keep its volume and not deflate when adding the sugar.
   
• Then add one tablespoon at a time 200 grams of superfine sugar, and continue mixing on medium-high speed for 3 minutes more to make a very shiny and thick meringue ( Use a timer!) 
   
• As soon as all of the sugar is incorporated and the meringue is thick, add the 140-gram egg yolks ( all at once) and whip on medium-high speed for 7 seconds and not a second longer, or your cake will become flat and dense. Stop the mixer and remove the bowl from the mixer. 
   
• Sift half of the flour/potato starch mixture over the whipped meringue/yolk mixture and gently combine with a balloon whisk until well incorporated; repeat this step one more time. Scrape the side and the bottom of the mixer bowl with a silicone spatula to make sure all the flour is integrated. 
   
• Bakers Note: When you are adding the strawberries, lemon zest, vanilla, and warm cream in the next step, try to combine as little as possible—maybe two strokes, no more. If you feel the strawberries are not well distributed, use a spatula to divide them.
   
• As soon as you're done making the vanilla sponge cake batter, add the juicy strawberries. Since they are difficult to incorporate into the cake batter, don't just dump them on top. Instead, sprinkle small pieces all around on top of the cake batter. Add a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste and lemon zest, then set aside for a minute while you warm the cream.
   
• In a small saucepan, warm 50-gram heavy cream over medium heat until warm ( about 60 seconds, 50C°/122F° ), then quickly pour the warm cream around the edge of the mixer bowl and gently combine with a spatula or whisk without deflating the batter too much. Weigh the batter and divide it into two portions, about 400 grams each.
   
• Divide the sponge cake batter between the two prepared pans. About 400 grams in each pan, use a scale! Use an offset spatula to gently move the strawberries, ensuring they are evenly distributed in the pan. And gently smooth the tops with an offset spatula. Don’t tap your baking pans on the kitchen counter to try to get things to level out. 
   
• Bake both cakes until golden brown and the top of the cake feels firm and springs back when pressed lightly in the center, about 18 to 20 minutes, depending on your oven and baking pan. Mine was done at 19 minutes. To check if the strawberry sponge cake is ready after 18 minutes of baking, you should first look through the oven window rather than open the oven door. If the center appears slightly sunken, give it a minute or two longer while keeping an eye on it. At the 20-minute mark, if the center seems almost set, carefully open the oven and gently press the top of the cake. It should feel firm to the touch and may have a slight bounce to it. This method allows you to monitor the cake's progress without disrupting the baking process.
   
• Remove the cakes from the oven and immediately without any delay, run a knife between the sides of the pan and the cake, and invert the cakes immediately onto a wire rack; remove the parchment paper and leave it to cool completely on a wire rack. 
   
• Cover the cake layers with plastic wrap or in a large ziplock bag to prevent them from drying out until you are ready to use them.
   
• Once you´ve baked the two layers, you have a choice: You can use them as they are or split each in half to make a four-layer cake. It´s all about how much frosting/filling you have made for your cake. Keep in mind four layers mean more frosting/filling. It also means more height.
• You can bake the sponge cake layers up to a month in advance and freeze the cake. After the cake is completely cooled to room temperature, wrap each individual cake with 2 layers of plastic wrap, followed by tin foil, or place it in a zip lock bag. Before using your cake layers, remove the layers from the freezer about an hour before you plan to fill the cake.

For step by step pictures of how to make
Strawberry Sponge Cake
Click  → here