Posted on Tuesday, 29th June 2010 by Grace
School is out! I look forward to this time of year, I get to spend more time with the kids, no schedules, time is our own or is it? Matt (my son) completed his last exam yesterday and the celebration began, hooting and hollering, hands flaying out the car window and a car full of teenagers. No sooner than getting in the car Matt started listing everything he had planned for the week, I needed to drive him here and I needed to pick him up there, “I’m off to the beach this weekend to celebrate my birthday”. I guess the days of having them all to myself during the day are gone. We had a quiet weekend, I should have known it was the calm before the storm.
I took my weekly trip to the Farmer’s Market. It was brimming with the freshest vegetables and fruit. I came home with baskets of juicy, sweet strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I was excited to see peaches for the first time this year.
I thought to myself, “What should I make with all these beautiful pieces of fruit?” and I recalled a recipe that landed in my inbox a while back for Kasutera. Kasutera, also referred to as Castella is a popular Japanese sponge cake flavoured with honey. It’s not just any sponge cake, it is so light and fluffy and simply irresistible. I read somewhere that it tastes better the next day but I have to say it was pretty darn good the first day.
I am a big lover of crème pâtissière, I could eat a whole bowl on it’s own, it is so creamy and delicious. I thought it would be nice to make Strawberry Shortcake using the Kasutera and layering it with crème pâtissière, fresh sliced strawberries and sweetened whipped cream.
The cake was oh so soft, I realized pretty quick that cutting out rounds or squares would prove to be difficult, once cooled I wrapped it in parchment and placed it in a Ziploc bag and refrigerated it.
We had to wait a day for the shortcakes (still proved to be difficult when cutting the squares), didn’t look as beautiful as I’d like, but oh was the taste worth it. The moist Kasutera, the creamy crème pâtissière, the light sweetened whipped cream and the sweetest strawberries all assembled together in one bite, sheer heaven!
This is definitely a recipe you want to have in your collection. The Kasutera would be beautiful in a summer berry trifle or served with a warm berry compote and sweetened whipped cream and of course simply on it’s own.
Japanese Kasutera (Castella)
(Setsuko Yoshizuka, About.com)
Makes 1 large loaf or 2 small loaf pans
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup bread flour, sifted
- Preheat oven to 360° F
- Butter and line 1 large loaf pan or 2 small loaf pans with waxed paper (leaving a 1-inch overhang).
- Place milk in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat just to warm (about 8 to 12 seconds). Mix honey in the warm milk, set aside.
- Fill a large bowl with warm water, set aside.
- Using an electric hand-mixer, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, adding the sugar gradually. Place the bowl over the large bowl with warm water, continue to whisk the egg mixture until it becomes light yellow (almost white). Add the honey and milk mixture and whisk to combine.
- Sift flour, holding sieve nice and high above the bowl to get plenty of air in the flour as it goes down into the bowl, into the egg mixture. Using a large spatula gently fold the flour into the egg mixture.
- Pour the batter in lined loaf pan(s) and tap the pan(s) gently on the table to release any air bubbles. Bake at 360° F for 10 minutes, then turn down oven temperature to 280° F and continue to bake for about 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the Kasutera comes out clean.
- Remove Kasutera from oven and grasping the parchment on both sides of pan lift the Kasutera out, carefully remove parchment and place on wire rack to cool.
Crème Pâtissière
(from Michel Roux – Eggs)
makes about 1 pound 10 ounces (750 g)
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (125 g) superfine sugar
- 1/4 cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
- generous 2 cups (500 ml) milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- a little confectioners’ sugar or butter
- Combine the egg yolks and 1-third of the sugar in a bowl and whisk to a light ribbon consistency. Add the flour and whisk it in thoroughly.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the milk with the rest of the sugar and the vanilla bean. As soon as it comes to a boil, pour it into the egg yolk mixture, stirring as you go. Mix well, then return the mixture to the saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Allow the mixture to bubble, still stirring for 2 minutes. Remove vanilla bean.
- Remove from heat, strain crème pâtissière through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl. To prevent a skin from forming, dust the surface with a veil of confectioners’ sugar or dot all over with little flakes of butter or place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface. Let cool. One cold, the pastry cream can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Sweetened Whipped Cream
- 237 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
- 16 g (2 tablespoons) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Chill large bowl, beaters and cream before whipping.
- Place cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla in chilled bowl. Using an electric-hand mixer or balloon whisk whip until you’ve reached your desired consistency. For soft peaks, peaks are rounded or curl when beaters are lifted. For stiff peaks, peaks will stand up straight when beaters are lifted.
- Chill.
Japanese Strawberry Shortcake
- I loaf Kasutera
- Crème Pâtissière
- sweetened whipped cream, stiff peak
- strawberries, sliced
- strawberries, whole, stems attached (to decorate)
To Assemble Strawberry Shortcakes:
- Slice Kasutera into 1-inch pieces, using a cookie cutter, cut into desired shape and size.
- Place one piece of cut cake on dish, spread cake with crème pâtissière, about 1/4-inch thick. Arrange sliced berries on top crème pâtissière. Spread sweetened whipped cream on strawberries, about 1/4-inch thick. Arrange a layer of sliced strawberries on sweetened whipped cream. Top with a piece of Kasutera.
- To decorate, using a piping bag, pipe a round mound on top of Kasutera, place whole strawberry on top of the mound of sweetened whipped cream.
- Serve immediately.
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Tags: castella, creme patissiere, dessert, desserts, japanese dessert, kasutera, pastry cream, sponge cake, strawberries, strawberry shortcake, summer berry cake, Summer desserts, sweetened whipped cream
Posted in Baking & Pastry, Baking Mise en Place, Custards, Creams & Mousses, Eggs, Fillings, Frostings & Dessert Sauces, Pastry Doughs & Batter, Recipes
Comments (37)
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June 29th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Beautiful cake and I love Japanese sponge cake. When my poppet is on school holidays, her grandparents will take her along with them on vacation and we the parents get some time off to ourselves. LOL!
June 29th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Thank you Pamela, what a nice break for you, I used to love spending time with my Grandmother during summer holidays, what memories, I miss those times.
June 29th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
This screams summer! Delish!
June 29th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
It does, doesn’t it, I love it!
June 30th, 2010 at 12:09 am
What a beautiful summer dessert! It looks perfect for summer vacation recipes. We’ve been running around like crazy these last few days, but I had to stop by because, as always, I love your pics!
June 30th, 2010 at 1:36 am
Hey Marly, loved your banana ice cream, still can’t get over the fact you only used one ingredient, unbelievable! By the way Coco looks a lot like my Kisses.
June 30th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
[...] Believe it or not I have restrained myself from eating the leftover crème pâtissière from the Japanese Strawberry Shortcake recipe I shared with you yesterday, it took everything in me to stop myself from devouring the [...]
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:56 am
[...] cherries on hand and leftover pastry cream from the Japanese Strawberry Shortcakes I shared with you the other day, Martha’s Black Forest Cupcakes were the perfect dessert for [...]
July 4th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
[...] decided to decorate my pavlova simply with sweetened whipped cream, strawberries, blackberries and [...]
August 19th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Just want to ask how big is the large loaf pan? =)
August 19th, 2010 at 11:27 am
I use the Wilton Loaf Pan 9.25 X 5.25 X 2.75 inches or in metric 23.5 X 13.3 X 6.99 cm. They are beautiful non stick pans.
November 11th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
I absolutely have to try this cake. The recipe is intriguing. Thnx
December 3rd, 2010 at 3:11 pm
[...] Sweetened Whipped Cream, optional [...]
January 22nd, 2011 at 7:27 pm
[...] dessert dish consisting of Pâte à Choux Puffs (Choux Pastry Puffs) filled with Crème Chantilly (Sweetened Whipped Cream flavoured with Vanilla) or Crème Patissiere (pastry cream). The puffs can also be filled with ice [...]
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:38 pm
[...] dress up this Racines Cake with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate sauce or simply serve it with sweetened whipped cream or enjoy it as I did, all on its [...]
March 4th, 2011 at 9:24 am
[...] cups and pour over the jelly mixture.Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours until set.Sweetened Whipped CreamSweetened Whipped Cream Recipe X 2Assembling Strawberry Shortcake Trifle Using a serrated knife cut 6 slices (1.9-cm /¾-inch [...]
March 20th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
I tried making this today, but I am not sure it is going to turn out. It is currently in the oven at 280 degrees F. I was confused by the directions. Was I supposed to beat the egg mixture or whisk it? My electric hand mixer only has beaters on it, so I whisked it by hand. The egg mixture was very frothy. I didn’t know if it was supposed to resemble meringue more than a bubbly, slightly thick mixture.
March 20th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Hi Amanda you should have the oven set at 360 degrees farenheit for the first 10 minutes and then you reduce to 280, you could whisk by hand but it would take longer, if your hand mixer only has beaters without the whisk attachment that would have been fine. You do need to increase the oven temp, it looks like you just left the message so I am hoping you will see this. I will email you as well.
April 29th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
[...] usually add a splash of liqueur, Grand Marnier, Frangelico or Brandy. And I top with a quenelle of Sweetened Cream and chocolate curls. I experimented with a Mascarpone Cream this time and it was delightful, [...]
April 30th, 2011 at 1:10 am
What a wonderful recipe! And it does not have any butter – amazing
April 30th, 2011 at 7:13 am
That was the first thing I noticed when I first saw the recipe.
May 25th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
[...] for dusting cake tin200 g (7 ounces) good quality dark chocolate, 74%200 g (14 tablespoons 0r 1¾ sticks) unsalted butter7 g (1 tablespoon) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted6 large eggs, [...]
June 5th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
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June 28th, 2011 at 11:21 am
Very pretty dish! I made kasutera many times before and posted on my blog too. Kasutera is originated from my home town of Nagasaki. This recipe is slightly different than mine but also looks good and fancy!
June 30th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
I have a digital oven setting. do I take out the cake while the oven is resetting to a lower temperature?
June 30th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Hi Clara, you keep the cake in the oven just lower the setting. Hope you enjoy!
July 3rd, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Hi, I just made the recipe and the cake seems a little dense. the color looks right and the top of the cake looks right but it feels heavy. what do you think i did wrong?
thank you,
chanel
July 3rd, 2011 at 8:03 pm
Chanel, Kasutera is tricky to make, from what I’ve read seasoned bakers can have a difficult time getting the texture right. It is really important to sift the flour nice and high to get a lot of air into the flour. It is important to warm the milk. And it’s very important to whisk the eggs until they are very pale and thick, this process can take up to 15 minutes or so.
August 2nd, 2011 at 9:16 am
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August 2nd, 2011 at 9:21 am
[...] is my all-time favourite. I could eat a whole bowl in one sitting! Other fillings include sweetened whipped cream or custard. And of course we can’t forget the topping. Most éclairs are topped with [...]
September 16th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
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October 12th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
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October 14th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
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October 14th, 2011 at 11:22 pm
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January 20th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
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