Vietnamese French Cake

Everyone that knows me knows I hate baking any type of pastries. But I was craving this cake we usually get at the Vietnamese bakery so I decided to give it a shot last night. This was my result, my decorating skills could definitely use some work and I should've used real vanilla beans as I can still taste the alcohol from the vanilla extract that I used.

I didn't have my own recipe for the actual cake itself, but I do have one for the whipped cream icing. So the credit goes to: http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2008/12/homemade-sponge-cake.html

Sponge Cake

Makes 1 cake

Start by preparing the pan. Use a 4-cup pan, like a high-sided (with a 2" wall) 8-inch round or square, or an 11" x 17" sponge sheet. To prepare the pan, smear a bit of softened butter to lightly coat the bottom and side. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Smear the parchment paper with a bit more butter. Add ¼ to ½ cup all-purpose flour (depending on the size of the pan) and shake and turn the pan around to coat it. Standing over the sink, invert and tap the pan to remove excess flour. Set aside.

Now put a rack in the lower third position and preheat to 350F. Then, have your mixer (or whisk) and rubber spatula handy. Finally, gather the ingredients and organize yourself so you can move swiftly and smoothly through the process.

For egg yolk batter base:

3 large egg yolks, placed in a metal bowls, about 3-quart capacity
½ cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For egg whites:

3 large egg whites, place in a metal bowl, 2-3-quart capacity
Pinch of salt, non-iodized table salt, preferred
Scant ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

For finishing the batter:

1/3 cup plus ¼ cup cake flour (such as Swans Down brand) scooped and leveled into a sifter set over a piece of parchment or plate (measure 1/3 cup then measure 1/4 cup for 7/12 cup total!)
3 tablespoons tepid melted, unsalted butter (keep cooled butter on stove to avoid solidification)

1. Start beating the egg yolks in the bowl. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar by the tablespoon to incorporate well. (Do this too fast and the batter will be grainy with sugar.) Continue beating for several minutes, until the mixture is thick, pale yellow, and when you pause and lift the whisk (or beaters), the batter drips down and forms a ribbon that slowly dissolves on the surface. Now, beat in the vanilla. Set aside.
2. Wash and dry the whisk (or beaters) well.
3. Start beating the egg whites. When they are foamy throughout, sprinkle in the salt and cream of tartar. Continue beating until soft peaks form (when the whisk (or beaters) is lifted out of the egg whites, a soft, slightly bent over peak of egg white forms in the bowl). As you beat, the whites will have gone from clear to light grey to solid white. Instead of sliding from the walls of the bowl, they will stick to the bowl.

After soft peaks form, sprinkle in the 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating for a couple more minutes to generate stiff egg whites (the peak stands straight when the whisk is lifted from the bowl). The whites will have a sheen.

4. Immediately take a large rubber spatula and plop a ¼ of the egg whites into the egg yolk base. Stir gently to lighten the base. Then plop 1/3 of the remaining whites onto the base. Sift ¼ of the flour on top. Delicately and quickly use the spatula to fold the ingredients together, until they are nearly all incorporated. (To fold, plunge the spatula sideways - like a knife - into the center of the batter, touching bottom. Rapidly bring the spatula to the wall of the bowl and rotate it to scoop up and fold the batter over the whites and flour. Do this several times.)
Repeat with another 1/3 of the remaining whites and 1/3 of the remaining flour. Fold again until almost blended.

Fold in ½ of the remaining whites, ½ of the remaining flour. Fold again until almost blended. Fold in the remaining whites and remaining flour. Fold again until nearly blended. At that point, pour in the melted butter in a circle. Quickly fold it into the batter (do not over blend or the batter will deflate). The finished batter will be pale yellow, very thick, and light feeling.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. It should fill to about ¼ inch of the rim. Scoop out extra batter to avoid overflow during baking.

6. Use the spatula to spread the batter out evenly in the pan. Tilt the pan in all direction to slightly push the batter toward the rim. This prevents a domed-center during baking.

7. Gently slide the cake into the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The cake will rise slowly and then brown. The cake is done when its puff sinks slightly and the sides show a faint line of shrinkage from the edges of the pan.

8. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes. (It will deflate and pull away from the pan walls.) Run a knife all around the edge, between the cake and the pan. Invert the cake onto your hand (or back on the rack), give the cake bottom a tap, and then remove the cake pan. Peel off the parchment paper and discard. Invert the cake, top side up, onto the rack. Allow to cool completely (about 1 hour) before eating, filling, or icing.

Whipped Cream Icing

Ingredients:

1 pint heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons confectionist sugar
1 pint fresh strawberries (sliced)
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/4 cup roasted almonds (chopped, I used the food processor)

Directions:

Begin whipping cream with a whisk until cream starts to thicken, slowly add sugar until you get very stiff peaks with the cream. With a spatula begin frosting middle of the cake (oh by the way, I cut my cake in half to make 2 layers) and add strawberries. Add the other layer of the cake and slightly push down until cake is level. Frost the cake from the top down and finish off with strawberries, blueberries and almonds. You can choose other fruits such as kiwi, raspberries, etc. as well, it just so happened that the fruits I used were the freshest ones at the market.

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