This is a
really great, light and tasty dessert that’s really easy to prepare and is sure
to impress. The main stars of this dish are the strawberries which are still in
season and are sweet and delicious right now so it’s best to use them while
they are so good. This dessert doesn’t keep very well so it’s advisable to
prepare it when you’re expecting guests or feeling especially gluttonous! There
are only two elements to this dish that require some bit of effort: the sponge
and the custard and it’s the simple combination of the two, plus the
strawberries that makes this dish so successful. Here’s the recipe!
For the Sponge:
4 Eggs:
whites and yolks separated (you will need the yolks later)
100g Caster
Sugar
100g Flour
(plain in fine but for extra insurance use self-raising)
1 punnet of
Irish Strawberries
1. Add the egg whites and caster sugar
to a mixing bowl.
2. Using an electric whisk/mixer beat
the mixture until it is light, airy and has at least doubled in size.
3. Next, sift the flour onto the surface
of the mixture.
4. Fold the flour into the mixture using
a steel spoon or spatula as a wooden spoon will knock out the air and you will
end up with a very flat, dense sponge and no one wants that!
5. Spoon your mixture into a cake tin
that has been greased and floured.
6. Take your strawberries and halve any
that are quite big. Arrange them on top of the sponge mixture any way you like.
You will probably have a few left over so these can be saved as a garnish for
later.
7. Place the sponge into an oven, on the
middle shelf at 180°C for about 30-35 minutes. (For
fan-assisted ovens 160°C should be fine)
8. The sponge is done when a skewer inserted into
the middle comes out clean.
For the
Custard:
3-4 Egg
Yolks
75-100g
Caster Sugar (depending on how sweet or not you like it)
½ a Vanilla
Pod
1 Small tub
of double cream (fresh is fine too)
Some Milk
1. While the sponge is cooking you can
prepare the vanilla custard. Pour the cream into a saucepan with roughly half
its amount of milk.
2. Split the vanilla pod in half using a
sharp knife and scrape out the shiny black seeds. Place these, along with the
split pod into the milk and cream mixture. Heat gently until the mixture just
starts to steam at the surface, but not boil.
3. You can remove the vanilla pod at
this point.
4. In a small bowl mix the sugar and egg
yolks together.
5. Add a small amount of the hot milk
and cream mixture to the sugar and egg yolks. Mix vigorously to warm the eggs.
This is called tempering and prevents the eggs from scrambling when added to
the pot.
6. Add the tempered mixture to the pot
and heat gently until thickened to a lovely, silky, custardy texture.
By the time
the custard is ready the sponge will more than likely be ready to come out of
the oven. Remove the sponge and let it rest for a few minutes before removing
from the cake tin. This is best eaten while still slightly warm from the oven
with the freshly made vanilla custard smothered on top. Garnish with a fresh
strawberry, serve and enjoy!