Prep Time : 30 Minutes | Cook Time : 35 Minutes | Total Time : 2 hours | Difficulty : Moderate
I hope all of you had a lovely Christmas filled with fun and food and love and family. I was tasked with dessert for our family Christmas (naturally) and made a variation of this fantastically easy cake which practically oozes celebration all on its own! My brother doesn’t eat dairy so this cake was the perfect choice served with a vanilla coconut cream custard on the side rather than the whipped cream in this recipe.
Preheat the oven and prepare two 8 inch round cake pans that are at least two inches deep. Line the bases with baking paper and brush the sides with vegetable oil and dust with flour.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick and pale. Keep whisking steadily and slowly add the oil a couple of tablespoons at a time until all of it has been combined. Use a light flavoured oil – canola or a light olive oil are great choices.
Fold in about a third of the dry ingredients until barely combined followed by half the champagne. Alternate dry ingredients and wine – finishing with dry – until everything is just mixed and no lumps of flour remain. The batter will be very liquid so don’t panic!
Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake for 35 minutes turning halfway through. Check the cakes at 25 minutes and at five minute intervals thereafter to make sure you catch them when they are just done.
Cool the cakes in the tins for five minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Leave the baking paper on the bottom of the cakes while they cool to prevent them sticking to the rack. The rounded tops will flatten slightly as they cool.
When the cakes are completely cold split each into two layers. Using a sharp serrated knife with a blade as long as the diameter of the cake, mark the halfway point all the way around each cake before cutting through. This will guide you and help prevent wayward layers (although that’s nothing a little whipped cream can’t fix)!
When you have all your layers you can assemble your cake. Whip the cream with a little icing sugar and vanilla extract until thick but not dry. Slice fresh strawberries (or whatever soft fruit you like) and prepare to stack!
Starting with the top layer of one of the cakes, place it top side down onto a serving platter – the cut cake should be exposed. Spread with a layer of whipped cream and arrange a layer of sliced strawberries on top. Add the next layer of cake and repeat until all the layers are assembled, finishing with the other ‘top’ layer.
Top the cake with whipped cream and decorate festively!
Strawberry Champagne Layer Cake
Prep Time : 30 mins | Cook Time : 35 mins | Total Time : 2 hours | Difficulty : Moderate | Makes : 1 tall 8 inch cake
Light fluffy sponge with a hint of champagne, layered with strawberries and whipped cream – the perfect summertime celebration!
Ingredients:
- 315 gm | 11.5 oz | 2 cups flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 345 gm | 12.5 oz | 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 250 ml | 8.5 fl oz | 1 cup canola oil
- 250 ml | 8.5 fl oz | 1 cup sparkling wine or champagne
- 500 ml | 17 fl oz | 2 cups cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Approx 2 cups sliced strawberries or other soft fruit
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line the bases of two 8 inch round cake tins with baking paper and brush the sides with vegetable oil and dust with flour.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a bowl and set aside. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick and pale. Slowly add the oil a tablespoon or two at a time and whisk until each addition has been combined. Gently fold in one third of the dry ingredients followed by one half of the champagne and alternate between the two – ending with dry ingredients – until just combined and no lumps of flour remain. The batter will be quite runny.
Divide evenly between the prepared tins and bake for 30 to 35 minutes turning halfway through. The cakes should be golden and spring back when gently pressed in the centre. Cool in the tins for about 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Leave the baking paper on the bottoms to stop them sticking to the rack. The rounded tops will flatten slightly as they cool.
While the cakes are cooling whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla until spreadable but not dry and slice the strawberries.
When completely cold split each cake into two layers. Assemble the cake on a serving plate starting with the ‘top’ layer from one of the cakes. Spread with whipped cream and then arrange a layer of strawberries before topping with the next layer of cake. The bottoms of the two original cakes should end up together in the middle. Spread the top with a last layer of whipped cream and decorate as you like.
Adapted from Vintage Cakes.
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