Blueberry Shortcake

Christean N.
6 minutes ago
5 min read

RECIPE

BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

INGRREDIENTS	QUANTITY
Caster Sugar	60g
Lemon Juice	15ml (1/2 Lemon)
Frozen Blueberries	250g
Cinnamon Stick	1
Vanilla Bean Paste	10g

VANILLA SPONGE CAKE

Equipment: 1 x (15cm diameter x 6.5cm depth) removable base cake pan (The cake pan needs to be the non non-stick type)

INGREDIENT	QUANTITY
Egg Whites	90g
Cream of tartar	pinch
Caster Sugar	90g
Egg Yolks	60g
Cake Flour	90g
Baking Powder	1/4 teaspoon

Note: If you want to watch how to make the sponge cake, visit the post Soft Sponge Cake for the video.

TO MAKE THE VANILLA SPONGE CAKE

Pre heat the oven to 170˚C.
Place the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed until soft peak and there are no liquid egg whites remaining.
Stream in the caster sugar while continuously whisking. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and continue whisking until you achieve a stiff peak.
Add the egg yolks in the meringue and whisk to combine. Once you can drop and 8 figure with the cake batter on top without it disappearing for 5 seconds, the batter is well whipped and ready for the next step.
Mix the cake flour and baking powder together in a bowl. In seperate additions, sift in the dry mixture over the top of the egg foam and gently fold through. Continue with more sifted flour and fold until you have added all of the rest of the dry ingredients.
Note: It is important to not add too much dry ingredients each time to prevent them from sinking in and collapse the air in the egg mixture. Gently fold through without being too vigorous will ensure that your sponge cake is light and fluffy. Take your time and be gentle with the mix.
In a seperate bowl, mix the room temperature milk and oil together. Scoop our a generous amout of the foam mixture into the liquid and gently stir. Add more foam mixture if needed until the liquid base is a similar lightness with the foam mixture. Add in the foamed liquid mixture back into the egg base and gently fold again until they are well mixted through.

Note: The liquid base needs to be the same lightness to the egg foam base otherwise they can be too heavy and when added back to the egg foam base, can collapse all the air pockets and cause the base to be overly dense after baking.
Transfer the sponge mix into two seprate removable base cake tin, approximately 330g each pan.
Place the cake tin onto a baking tray and bake at the lowest part of your home oven for approximately 35 minutes or until when tested with a skewer, it comes out clean.
Once bake, drop each cake tin down gently to tap the cake down to prevent excessive shrinkage. Then, turn the cake upside down over a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled, run a sharp pairing knife on the edges to realease the cake, gently pull the base off from the cake.
Wrap each sponge cake in cling wrap to prevent from drying out.
You can either reserve them at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze them for future use.
The sponge cake will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

BLUEBERRY MASCARPONE WHIPPED CREAM

PART I (FOR FILLING AND CRUMB COATING)

INGREDIENTS	QUANTITY
Thickened Cream 35% Fat	300ml
Mascarpone	80g
Icing Sugar	80g
Blueberry Freeze Dried Powder	3g

PART II (FOR FINAL MASKING)

INGREDIENTS	QUANTITY
Thickened Cream 35% Fat	200ml
Mascarpone	50g
Icing Sugar	50g
Blueberry Freeze Dried Powder	2g

TO MAKE THE BLUEBERRY MASCARPONE WHIPPED CREAM

I divided the whipped cream to two parts: the first part are whipped to a firmer consistency for filling and crumb coating for better structure and the second part (PART II) of the whipped cream is whipped to a slightly softer but stable consistency on low speed for a smoother finish.

It is best to whip them seperately so that they whipped cream do not lose its structure from sitting out for too long.

ASSEMBLY

To assemble, gently rub the sponge cake to remove as much crumbs and skins as possible. This will allow for a cleaner masking

Slice the sponge cake to THREE equal slices horizontally. I have slice them to approximately 1.5cm thick each.
To prepare the blueberry whip cream, place all the ingredients from PART I (FOR FILLING AND CRUMB COATING) in to a standmixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk to a firm but not stiff consistency, being careful not to overwhip the cream.
Place the first layer of sponge onto turntable.
Place a small amount of the whip cream PART I on top and smooth out with a paletter knife. Transfer a small amount of the cream into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm diamter plain tip and pipe border around the side.
Mix the set blueberry compote to loosen the mixture. Spread a small amount in the centre of the cream ring.
Top with a small amount to of the whipped cream on top of the compote and smooth out with a smoothing pallette knife.
Place the second sponge on top and repeat step #5 & #6.
Place the third and final slice of sponge on top.
Starting from the edges, add some cream and give the edges its crumb coat, filling in any gaps between each layer of sponge. Then add a small amount of the whipped cream on top and smooth out the top.
Place all the ingredients from PART II (FOR FINAL MASKING) and whisk to a slightly softer but still firm enough to spread consistency on low speed. Try not to whisk on high speed as this can create large air pockets.
Start from the edges again, scoop some of the medium whipped cream onto the edges and smoothe out with the palette knife and do the same for the top. Remove any uneven edges by pulling a small offset palette knife from the edge towards the center.
With the reserved whipped blueberry cream , pipe on top to decorate and top with some fresh blueberries.
Brush the blueberries with some slightly warmed neutral glaze(optional for a shiny finish) to preserve the fruits.
Note: If you want to learn how to make the neutral glaze yourself, you can jump straight on to my post on Neutral Glaze.
Place the finished cake into the fridge to firm up again for an hour before cutting and serving.