Fruit filled sponge cake

Today is Jay's birthday and he wanted a cake that is not overly sweet.  As mentioned earlier he doesn't like anything too sweet.  And so I thought why not make him a fruit cake with whipped cream which is sweetened to his likeness.  So here is the cake I baked, it is not too sweet and  heavy as the usual butter cream or cream cheese cakes.
As expected Jai loved his cake and  even had a second helping. So if you or your loved ones love a 'not so sweet' cake that is light and refreshing give this a try.
Happy Birthday Sweetheart !
Recipe Source: Woodland bakery
Ingredients for the cake:
Large Eggs at room temperature-4
Granulated  sugar-2 cups
Whole Milk 1 cup
Unsalted Butter 8 Tablespoons
Vanilla Extract  1 Tablespoon
All Purpose Flour -2 cups
Baking Powder -2 teaspoon
Salt -1/4 teaspoon

 Method:

In the bowl whip the room temperature eggs on high speed with the whip attachment until foamy, then gradually start adding in your sugar very slowly.

The eggs will take about 5 – 7 minutes to reach the ribbon stage, so in the meantime you can heat your milk and butter together in the microwave or on the stove top  and reserve to keep warm- you will want to add this to the mixture  while it is still warm/hot.

Also have your flour and baking powder and salt sifted together to aerate and lighten.

The ribbon stage is a stage where the egg/sugar mixture is very light in color, very thick and when lift your whip attachment and the batter runs back into the bowl it makes a ribbon effect before disappearing back into the mixture. You can also do a “figure 8″ pattern with the mixture and if it stays visible for a few seconds before disappearing you know you have achieved ribbon stage.

At this point add in all of the dry ingredients at once with the mixer OFF first  and then on low speed mix in the dry mixture.  You can gradually go up to a higher speed to make sure it is all incorporated evenly.

Next you will prepare a liaison with the hot milk and melted butter mixture. A liaison is a technique in which rather than dumping the liquids straight into the main batter causing deflating of this delicate foam we took such care to achieve;  you will take out about 2 cups of the cake batter into a separate mixing bowl, and with a hand whisk add the hot liquids to THAT 2 cups of batter.  Whisk it all together and then proceed to add this liaison to the orginal cake batter in the  bowl.

Add the vanilla extract last and pour into prepared pans.

Bake this cake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes, then lower the temperature to 325 F to continue baking UNTIL IT’S DONE !


The cake is done when you gently press the center and it springs back immediately.


Also, this cake recipe is a foaming egg sponge, so it is naturally going to be a DRY  cake due to very low amounts of fat in the recipe.
It lends itself nicely to having a Simple Syrup brushed on the layers to add moisture

Ingredients for the Frosting:

2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
8 teaspoons cold water
2 cup heavy whipping cream (35%)
1/2cup sifted icing sugar (confectioners sugar)

Method:
In a small microwaveable bowl, combine gelatin and cold water; let stand until thick. Microwave the gelatin for 10 seconds,cool (do not allow it to set).
Whip the cream with the icing sugar, until slightly thick.While slowly beating, add the gelatin to whipping cream.Whip at high speed until stiff.

Final steps:
Chop up some fruits and mix it to one cup of whipping cream Remember to leave a good amount for frosting the tops and sides of your cake!!

Once your cakes have cooled, take a serrated knife and cut into each one. Take your fruit filling and begin to assemble your cakes, one layer at a time. Frost the tops and sides and decorate with fresh fruit/berries of your choice. Drizzle tops with the simple syrup. Place in fridge until ready to eat.