Strawberry Cake with Mascarpone Cream and Lemonade Soak
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
- 7 large eggs
- a pinch of salt
- 120 g sugar
- 170 g all-purpose flour
- 70 g potato starch
Lemonade Soak
- 1/2 lemon
- a sprig of mint
- 2 tbsp sugar
- water
Cream
- 500 g cold mascarpone cheese
- 250 g cold heavy cream (30% fat)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 250 g ricotta or cottage cheese
Additionally
- 250 g strawberry jam or preserve (store-bought or homemade)
- 500 g strawberries
Decoration (optional)
- about 100 g meringue
- fresh strawberries, flowers
Preparation
Sponge Cake Preheat the oven to 180°C. Bring the eggs to room temperature. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form, then gradually add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, continuing to beat until the mixture is thick and glossy. Gradually add egg yolks, mixing well after each addition. Sift all-purpose flour and potato starch into a clean bowl, mix, then add to the beaten egg mixture in 2 batches, gently folding until just combined. Pour the batter into a 26 cm diameter cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into 3 layers.
Prepare the lemonade soak: squeeze the juice from half a lemon and mix with water to make 1 and 1/2 cups of liquid. Add a sprig of mint and 2 tablespoons of sugar, mix well, and set aside.
Cream In a bowl, combine cold mascarpone cheese and cold heavy cream. Add powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form (about 2 minutes). Then mix in ricotta or cottage cheese until well combined. Set aside about 1/3 of the mixture for the top and sides of the cake. To the remaining mixture, add half of the strawberry jam (cooled if homemade). Mix well. Combine the second half of the strawberry jam with diced strawberries.
Assembly On a serving platter, place the first bottom sponge cake layer, soak with 1/3 of the lemonade, arrange half of the strawberries with jam, and then half of the strawberry cream. Place the second sponge cake layer, soak it, spread the remaining strawberries and the remaining strawberry cream. Place the last sponge cake layer and soak it. Frost the cake with the reserved white cream. Cover the sides with crushed meringue. Decorate the top with meringue, strawberries, and flowers.
