Strawberry Charlotte with Mixed Fruits

To Y's Por Por



I have now become the official cake provider to Y's family. Today is the birthday of Y's granny (por por). Por por is the most bubbly, cheerful and welcoming elderly person I have ever met: she likes going out; she likes joking and she likes teasing Y and me every time we visit her! I came up with the idea of making a charlotte because I felt this is the sunniest cake to make for the sunniest granny! This cake, was made on behalf of all her 7 children, hence the word 'mom' on the cake.

As you can see, the ladyfingers (Savoiardi) around the rim look very untidy. I have already tried my best but ladyfingers are delicate little babies that are extremely difficult to make. Next time I think I would use shop bought ones...

(P.S. regarding the last post, I realise one comment has gone missing after I moderated it...dunno why...)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
For the ladyfinger biscuits

1. 4 eggs, separated
2. 50g + 50g caster sugar
3. 60g plain flour
4. 40g cornflour

For the sponge

1. 175g margarine (I used Stork)
2. 175g caster sugar
3. 175g self-raising flour
4. 3 eggs, beaten
5. 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the strawberry mousse

1. 330g strawberries
2. 4 tablespoons sugar
3. 12g gelatine leaves
4. 300g double cream
5. 2 tablespoons icing sugar

Method:

• For this cake, you will need a 8' inch springform cake tin and two 7' inch cake tins.
• To make the ladyfingers: Preheat the oven to 200c and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. You should draw lines on the other side of the parchment paper so that you can pipe uniform ladyfingers (about 4 inch long) easily. Use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 50g of sugar until thick and pale yellow in a mixer bowl(about 5 minutes). Transfer the egg yolks and sugar mixture to another bowl and sieve plain flour and cornflour onto the mixture. Do not fold at this stage. Wash the mixer bowl and beaters thoroughly. Then put in the egg whites in the clean, dry mixer bowl and whip on low speed setting until foamy. Use a medium-high setting to whip the whites while add in the remaining 50g of sugar in 3 additions. Whip until stiff peaks form. Pour the whites into the egg yolk and flour mixture, again in 3 additions while folding very lightly. Stop when the batter is just incorporated. DO NOT OVER-FOLD. Put the batter into a piping bag and pipe the batter onto the parchment. Bake for 10 minutes or until the ladyfingers are slightly browned. Take out the baking trays and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the ladyfingers from the parchment while they are still warm. Let them cool completely on a baking tray.
• To make the sponge: Preheat oven to 180c. Line 2 7 inch cake tins and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a large bowl, put in margarine, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder and use a hand whisk until all ingredients are incorporated. Pour the batter into the 2 tins, spreading evenly. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool cakes on wire racks for 10 minutes. Turn out the cakes carefully and use a cake leveler or a serrated knife to trim the top of the sponge slices.
• To make the strawberry mousse: Soak the gelatine leaf in some cold water for 5 minutes. Whizz the strawberries in a food processor until it becomes puree. In a pan on medium heat, put in the puree and the sugar and let it come to a boil. Remove from heat and add in the softened gelatine (drain the gelatine and discard the water). Stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Leave aside to cool. In another bowl, whip the doublecream and icing sugar until peaks form. Fold the cooled puree mixture into the doublecream.
• To assemble the cake: Put an 8' inch springform tin (just the ring, not the base) on a cardboard circle. Line parchment paper around the ring (I stapled the ends of parchment paper so that they form a circle around the cake ring). Then, line the ladyfingers carefully around the cake ring. Place one layer of the sponge cake at the bottom, then pour in 1/2 or 2/3 of the strawberry mousse. Put the cake in the fridge to set for 30 minutes. Take out and put on a second layer of sponge cake. Then pour another layer of strawberry mousse on top (you may want to pour all in, but I prefer a thinner layer of mousse on top). Again, put in the fridge to set. Remove the springform ring carefully while the parchment is still holding the cake. Take a big ribbon to tie around the cake while you remove the parchment. Decorate the cake with fruits.