Japanese-style strawberry cake has a special place in my heart. Growing up in China in the early 90’s, we had very limited access to baked goods. All of my birthday cakes came from the bakery of a famous local Russian restaurant. The cake was on the denser side, and the cream frosting was quite thin. When I was in elementary school, some fancier bakeries opened and my mom started to buy baked goods from them. I cannot remember exactly where these bakeries came from, but their style was definitely learned from Taiwanese and Japanese baking. I was hooked on the lighter and fluffier cake immediately. After graduation from college I spent two years in Japan. For my first birthday there, I used the money earned from working part-time in a ramen shop to buy a tiny strawberry cake to share with the rest of the staff at the ramen shop. Coincidentally, the wife of the boss of the ramen shop made a small cake for me that day, and she told me “you should never buy your own cake on your birthday!” lol But man, that strawberry cake was the best one I’d ever had. It was extremely light and fluffy, and not too sweet. I could taste the freshness of the milk, flour, and cream like no other cake could have achieved.
Why this recipe
A few years back and quite early in my life as a blogger, I posted a strawberry cake recipe I learned from a Japanese recipe site. I liked the result a lot, but it was nowhere near the perfect Japanese-style strawberry cake from a bakery. Fast forward to this year, I decided to improve the cake recipe together with my sous chef Lilja, who’s way more experienced in baking than I am, attempting to get a better result. The project has lasted many months and involved extensive testing with different formulas. We finally have a winner! This recipe:
Uses beaten egg white and minimal flour to create a super fluffy textureUses a water bath to bake the cake, for the super delicate textureBrushes syrup between the layers with macerated strawberry for a bit of sweetnessFeatures a not-so-sweet frosting to bring out the flavor of the fruitHas a stabilized cream frosting so you can easily store and transfer the cake
To sum up, the cake is so light, moist and fluffy that you’ll feel like you’re biting into a cloud. It’s truly like the bakery-style Japanese strawberry cake with that delicate texture and taste.
Ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe couldn’t be more simple. You can get all of them from a regular grocery store. Bakeries often use a commercial stabilizer to make whipped cream frosting that stays good on the shelf for longer. To make stabilized whipped cream with common ingredients, we found that gelatin is the best option. By using this ingredient, you’ll help your cake stay perfect for a few days in the fridge.
Equipment you need
8” round cake pan A deep pan or baking dish that is almost as tall as the cake pan and can fit the cake pan in itParchment paperStand mixer (or hand mixer)Spinning cake stand (you can make one by placing the cake pan upside down, and top it with a flat plate or the removable bottom of a pie pan)Offset spatula
Cooking process
Prepare the cake part 1
Prepare the cake part 2
Make the macerated strawberries
Make the stabilized whipped cream
NOTE: You can make regular (non-stabilized) whipped cream as well and I’ve included the method in the recipe below.
Assemble the cake
Once done, you’ll need to store the cake in the fridge for an hour if using the stabilized cream, so the cream will set fully.
Important notes
Use gram measurements
It’s important to have precise measurements for this recipe in order to make it work. I highly recommend a kitchen scale to measure all the cake ingredients.
Precise oven temperature matters
It’s important to know your true oven temperature by using an oven thermometer because many ovens run hotter or colder than the temperature you set. When I was baking the cake using my new oven, it failed at first because I realized later that my true oven temperature was 15°F lower than the actual temperature (my oven came with an embedded thermometer, but I added three thermometers later to test it out). We ended up changing the cake formula a little so it’s less sensitive to oven temperature, but it’s still super helpful to know your true oven temperature. If your temperature is off by a lot, the cake might not rise properly. If you’re using a toaster oven, you should bake this cake at 325°F (150°C) because the cake will be closer to the heat source.
Do not over-whip
If you over-whip the egg white, the cake might not rise. It’s important to whip to medium peak stage and not firm peak.
Use hot water in the water bath
Using hot water in the water bath helps the cake to rise properly. We tried many times with and without, and found out using hot water directly instead of preheating cold water in the oven tremendously helps the cake to rise.
Afterthoughts
Making the bakery-style Japanese strawberry cake is a bit of a challenge and you will need a little bit of time and patience. But the result is extremely satisfying and rewarding, if you like strawberry cake as much as me. I hope you enjoy it!
More Classic Asian Desserts
Hong Kong Egg Tart (香港蛋挞)Chinese Egg Cake (鸡蛋糕)Tofu Pudding / Douhua (豆花)Pineapple Buns (菠萝包)
Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
