WHITE WINE CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES..

WHITE WINE CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES..

FOR THE SPONGE
4 big eggs, separated
60 ml hot water
200 g sugar
finely grated zest 1/2 lemon
fresh juice of 1/2 lemon
200 g plain flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 kg strawberries, halved (12 for decoration)
125 ml cointreau
8 egg yolks
300 ml dry white wine
200 g sugar
2 tbsp. gelatine
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
250 ml double cream
2 tbsp. powdered sugar
50 g almonds

MAKE THE SPONGE:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Prepare 25 cm cake tin, line it with baking paper.
2. Whip the egg yolks with the water, add 125 g sugar and lemon zest. Whip till light and fluffy.
3. In another bowl, whip egg whites, slowly add rest of the sugar. Whip till stiff and shiny. Slowly add egg yolk mix, then flour and baking powder.
4. Pour in the tin, bake for 35-40 min till firm. Leave for 15 min in the tin, then turn out and let it rest til completely cold.

5. Place the strawberries in a bowl and pour over the liqueur. Leave for an hour to marinate.

MAKE THE CREAM:
6. Whip egg yolks, wine and sugar in a hot water bath. Stir non stop on low heat till the cream gets thick and does not drip off the spoon. Take off the heat.
7. Put the gelatine in the lemon juice. When soaked, add to the egg mix and dissolve. Stir till the cream cools down. Place the cream into a bigger bowl, put into the fridge, stir time by time till completely cold.
8. Whip the cream with sugar. Mix one third of the whipped cream into the egg cream. Place the rest of the whipped cream into the fridge. Take the strawberries out of the liqueur, save it, and mix the berries into the cream.
9. Place one layer of the sponge cake  into a 23cm cake tin with removable sides. Soak the sponge with liqueur from the strawberries. Put all the cream over it, top with the other layer of the sponge. Soak it with the liqueur as well. Cover it with a film and place into a fridge for 6 hours.
10. Take of the sides of the tin. Ice with the rest of the whipped cream. Decorate with almonds and strawberries. 

P. S. I guess I am trying to make up for my vacation disappearance and now I will flood you with a lot of recipes.. :) So, this one was amazing, and it looks so  delicate, therefore it was my perfect birthday cake for my mom. Only thing I would change is that I would not marinate the berries, I would put them fresh in the cake.

Enjoy, k.

recipe from “Kūkas” by M. Neri