Irish Strawberry Cream Sponge

Keelings Irish Strawberry Cream Sponge

Are you looking for the ultimate showstopper? Then you need to try Keelings Irish Strawberry Cream Sponge. It is a simple recipe but looks spectacular.

Ingredients:

For the sponge

• 225g butter, softened
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 225g self-raising flour

For the filling

• 600ml double cream
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 450g Keelings strawberries, rinsed

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160° fan assisted/gas 4. Line the bottom of two 20cm (8inch) round cake tins with parchment paper. Grease the sides of the tins with butter then dust with flour
2. For the sponge, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until well creamed
3. Add the eggs one at a time, adding the vanilla with the last egg and beating for about 2-3 minutes with each addition
4. Add the flour and beat just until there is no dry flour visible in the batter
5. Divide batter equally between the prepared baking tins then smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cakes come out clean
6. Remove from oven and leave to cool in baking tins on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then turn sponges out of tins on to a cooling rack and leave to cool completely
7. To fill and stack, whisk together the cream, sugar and vanilla in a medium sized bowl just until you have medium firm peaks that hold their shape. Set aside
8. Hull 400g of the strawberries and cut each strawberry into slices
9. Cut the cooled sponges in half horizontally with a bread knife so that you now have 4 thin sponge layers
10. Place one of the sponge layers on a serving plate then evenly spread ¼ of the whipped cream on top. Arrange sliced strawberries on top of the cream, then place a sponge layer on top and repeat until the last sponge layer is on top. Dollop remaining whipped cream on top then decorate with remaining 50g strawberries (you can halve or quarter them) and dust with icing sugar. For an extra flourish, decorate with a few fresh mint leaves.
11. Best eaten on the day of assembly, but cake can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for 1 day