Cake project 2 - Puffy Strawberry Napolean Shortcake

My friend came over my place on 2 consecutive days this week to bake a cake for her mum's birthday.  She suggested baking a napolean cake. This is the first time I had heard of this cake.

The traditional Napolean cake is made of 3 layers of puff pastry sandwiched with layers of  pastry cream or sometimes whipped cream. However, that was not what we planned. She suggested including sponge cake layers along with the puff pastry. I felt confident doing the sponge layers but was unsure about working with puff pastry as it was something I have not tried working with. So, we decided to get ready made puff pastry.

So the grand plan was born. The idea is to construct a cake consisting of 3 layers of puffy pastry coupled with 2 sponge cake layers. In between the sponge cake layers and puff pastry layers will be vanilla whipped cream with fresh strawberries. 

On the first day, things went smoothly with the sponge cake. When it came to preparing the puff pastry, things seemed a little out place. It was difficult to roll the puff pastry to a uniform thickness and into a square. When the pastry was baked, it was a mix of flaky and doughy texture. As it was getting late, we had to carry on with the remaining tasks the next day. As for the baked puff pastry, I did not dump it into the bin but matched it with ice cream. The combination proved to be a good one - an ice-cream strudel, puffy and ice cold creamy.

The next day, we tried out a different brand of puff pastry. On the second attempt, the puff pastry is butter based as compared to the first which is made of margarine. The butter puff pastries were shaped nicely into squares of uniform thickness, saving us the time to roll them. After baking, the butter puff pastries turned out better in terms of texture and appearance - crispy and golden brown.

With the barrier overcame, assembling the cake was the final hurdle. First step of assembling involved trimming the 3 puff pastries layer to the same shape as the sponge cake. The sponge cake was evenly sliced into 2 layers with the aid of a wilton cake leveller,a trusty cake tool I keep around for assembling layered cakes. To make the vanilla cream, we simply added icing sugar and vanilla extract and whipped the cream till it peaked. Lastly, freshly bought dark red strawberries were sliced and set aside.

To complete the cake project, a layer of puff pastry was laid on the cake board. Strawberries were added and a layer of cream was spreaded evenly over the puff pastry. A sponge layer was adhered onto the layer of cream. Another layer of cream and strawberries was then added to the top of the sponge layer. The layering of cream and strawberries continued whenever a puff pastry layer or sponge layer was added. In total, the cake consists of 3 puff pastry layers, 2 sponge cake layers and 4 vanilla cream and strawberries layers.

I was pretty eager to know the verdict of the taste and texture of the cake. My friend commented that the puff pastry layer was not as crunchy as it was when we first baked it. Her mum enjoyed the cake though. Perhaps we were too generous with the cream, resulting in the puff pastry turning soggy. Looking at the pictures, the sponge layer looked somewhat a little thick. A shortcake that is nowhere short.

Puffy Strawberry Napolean Shortcake
Equipement: 8 inch square cake tin, cake leveller or large serrated knife longer than 8 inches, baking/cookie tray, 9 inch square cake board

Sponge Cake:
5 egg yolks
55g caster sugar
60g vegetable oil
60g water
110g cake flour
1/2 + 1/8 tsp baking powder
5 egg whites
55 sugar

Preparing Sponge cake:
1) Preheat oven to 160 degrees C
2) Place egg yolks, 55g caster sugar, oil and water in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer on medium high speed until thickened and fluffy (ribbon stage), about 10 minutes. The batter should increase in volume about 4 times and when the beater is lifted, the falling batter will leave a visible trail on the rest of the batter. The falling batter will not level with the rest of the batter immediately.
3) Whisk flour and baking powder in a large bowl to combine. Sift the flour mixture into beaten egg yolks in 3 batches and fold each batch gently using a ballon whisk. The volume will decrease due to inflating of egg yolk batter. Be sure to fold gently to prevent excessive deflating. Use a spatula to scrape sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure flour mixture is evenly incorporated.
4) In a clean metal bowl, whisk egg whites on low speed. Increase speed slowly to medium and beat untill egg whites are foamy. Gradually increase speed to high and add the other 55g of sugar gradually. Beat untill egg whites are stiff but moist looking. This is when the beaters are lifted, the egg whites will form peaks that are upright and not drooping slightly. Egg whites will resemble whipped cream.The entire bowl of whites will not drop out when the bowl is overturned.
5) Using a ballon whisk, fold one third of beaten egg whites into egg yolk batter gently to lighten and combine. Fold in the rest of the beaten whites to combine in another 2 batches. Final batter should be foamy and uniform in colour with no streaks of egg white present. Folding egg whites gently using balloon whisk will prevent egg whites from deflating too much.
6) Pour batter into a greased and lined 8 inch square pan and bake at 160 degrees C for 30 - 35 minutes. Test doneness using a skewer or toothpick.
7) Unmould sponge cake and leave to cool on wire rack.
8) Slice of the part that has domed. Slice cake into 2 layers.

Puff pastry
3 square sheets of puff pastry larger than 8 x 8 inches
1 egg mixed with 1 tbs caster sugar

Preparing Puff Pastry:
1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
2) Brush egg wash over the surface of a puff pastry sheet.
3) Bake puff pastry on a lined cookie/baking tray for 15 -18 minutes until top is puffy and golden.
4) Remove puff pastry and allow to cool. The bottom will be oily and soggy
5) Flip the baked puff pastry and bake the bottom (now facing up) for another 15-18 minutes. Both sides should be crispy when properly baked. Leave to cool.
6) Repeat steps 2) to 5) for the other 2 puff pastries.
7) Place the 8 inch square baking tray on top of a puff pastry. Trim puff pastry to 8 x 8 inches following the outline of the tin using a sharp knife. Repeat for the other 2 puff pastry sheets.

Cream layer:
400ml chilled whipping cream (we used dairy whipping cream)
2 tbs icing sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
350g ripe strawberries

Preparing Cream Layer:
1) Place chilled whipping cream in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla extract.
2) Beat on low speed to combine sugar, whipping cream and vanilla extract. Add more sugar and/or vanilla if desired.
3) Continue beating on medium high speed till creamy and stiff. The cream should hold its shape well and the cream will not budge much when bowl is overturned. Do not overbeat else the cream will separate into butter and water.
4) Wash and remove leaves and stems from strawberries. Cut 2/3 of the strawberries into thin slices. Set aside the rest for decorations.

Assembly:
1) Place a layer of square puff pastry on a 9 inch square cake board.
2) Arrange a layer of strawberry slices on top of the puff pastry, leaving a small border at the edges.
3) Apply a thin layer of cream evenly over the strawberries, enough to cover them and filling the entire square.
4) Place a sponge cake layer over the strawberries and cream.
5) Repeat steps 2) and 3) on the 1st sponge cake layer.
6) Next, place a 2nd  layer of puff pastry over the cream layer.
7) Repeat steps 2) and 3) on the 2nd puff pastry layer.
8) Next, place a 2nd sponge cake layer over the strawberries and cream.
9) Repeat steps 2) and 3) on the 2nd sponge cake layer.
10) Next, place a 3rd layer of puff pastry over the cream layer. Cake is fully assembled.
11) Dust top of assembled cake with icing sugar and decorate with remaining strawberries.

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