William Butler
It was my sis-in-laws birthday a couple of days ago…& it was time to bake a cake again! I was really waiting for this cake baking opportunity because strawberries had begun appearing in the market. The idea had been germinating in my mind for long, & I was actually restless to give it a go! I planned to make 2 sponges; 1 chocolate & the other a strawberry flavoured one; sandwich them with whipped cream & strawberries; & top the cake with a ganache. That’s exactly what I did…& the cake was just too delicious for words. A droolicious combination!! Almost too good to be true! 
A burst of flavour & colour!
Chocolate & Strawberries are quite the ultimate combination…
Strawberries are one of the first fruits of the season and have long been associated with rebirth and Spring. They are the only fruit with seeds on the outside. Strawberries are low calorie and a good source of vitamin C and fiber.The strawberry plant is a member of the Rose family.
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Line & grease a 8″ spring form tin.
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Sift the cornflour + flour + cocoa + baking powder + salt 3 times. Keep aside.
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Beat the eggs & sugar well till it holds thick ribbons; about 10 minutes.
- Beat in the vanilla essence.
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Gently fold in the flour mix, a tbsp at a time, in figure 8 hand movements so that the beaten air doesn’t escape.
- Turn into the prepared tin & bake for 25-30 minutes/ until done.
- Remove from tin after 5 minutes, take off the lining & cool completely on rack.
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Whip cream, essence & sugar till it holds peaks.
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Reserve 1-2 tbsp cream in a baggie for the spiral/ web on top.
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Fold in the strawberries.
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Don’t make this too much in advance, since strawberries macerate with sugar, & might make the cream runny.
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Put the chocolate & cream in a pan. Keep on low heat, stirring constantly, till the chocolate melts. Remove & stir vigorously with a spoon.
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If you want to pipe decorations on top, pass about 1/4 cup through a sieve & reserve separately. I’ve found that unless you sieve the ganache, its not easy to pipe it through an icing set. Its fine for spreading though.
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Set aside to cool. It will thicken as it cools & get a spreadable consistency.
Finishing it off:
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Cut each sponge into 2, so there are a total of 4 layers.
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Sandwich them with the strawberry cream, using 1/3 each time.
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Spread the ganache over the top & sides of cake. Use sprinkles on the sides if desired.
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For the marbling, see pictures. Draw a spiral, with the cream in the baggie reserved from the filling, beginning from the centre outwards.
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Then drag a wooden pick from the centre outwards, at a 60 degree angle, to equal points on the edge.
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Do the same in the opposite direction (ie outwards to the centre) between the earlier lines. This will create a webbed pattern.
- Pipe a ganache edging if you like. Then finish off with sliced strawberries & flaked chocolate etc. Chill till required.
- Note: Serves about 15-18
Many hues & many views…
“Other things are just food. But chocolate’s chocolate.”
Patrick Skene Catling
