Strawberry Box Cake with yuzu namelaka

Instructions

Prepare honey and vanilla cookie dough.

1. In a saucepan add the honey together with the two types of sugar.
2. Place over medium low heat and, stirring from time to time, let the ingredients melt and integrate completely.
3. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In the bowl of the KitchenAid add the butter, with the help of the flat beater, start beating on speed 1. Add the molasses that we have prepared in a continuous thread. Mix on speed 1 until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time and wait to add the second one when the first one has been integrated.
6. Add the vanilla together with the salt and mix again.
7. Begin to integrate the flour little by little. Mix until it is completely integrated and add more flour. We will make this step until we add the totality of the flour.
8. Dump the dough on a clean work surface and knead a little with your hands.
9. Flatten slightly and wrap with plastic wrap or place in a freezer bag.
10. Let it rest at room temperature for 2-3 hours.

Roll out the cookie dough.

1. Stretch the dough between two Teflon sheets. We will give it a thickness of 6 mm with the help of an adjustable rolling pin. It is possible that not all the dough will fit in the tray, so we cut a piece and stretch it separately.
2. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until the next day.

Cut the cookies.

1. To form the strawberry box, we need to create planks to cover the sides. In my case I cut two rectangles of 19'5 x 5 cm and two other rectangles of 15 x 5 cm. These are the measurements of my cake, remember that if yours is different, you must adjust the measurements to the size of the cake.
2. On the other hand, we will cut 8 small rectangular boards with the measures of 6'5 cm x 2 cm.
3. Whenever you have to move the cookies, once cut, I advise you to keep them cold to prevent them from losing their shape.
4. To texturize the boards and create a "more real" effect, we will create lines on each plank with the help of a knife. In the video I show you how to do it.
5. If you wish, you can also create small screws in the large planks that hold the small planks.
   Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Bake.

1. Preheat the oven to 330ºF/165ºC with heat up and down.
2. Bake directly from the refrigerator. Place at medium height and bake for 15-18 minutes, making sure they do not brown too much.
3. Remove and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Once all the cookies are baked, let them rest at room temperature for 14-16 hours in a cool, dry place, if possible.

Finish decorating the cookies.

1. Once they have cooled completely, brush the surface of all the cookies with cocoa powder. This will give the appearance of depth.
2. To attach the small wooden boards to the larger ones, we will use chocolate. In my case I used 20 g of dark chocolate. You can use another variety if you wish.
3. Melt the chocolate and place small amounts on the small planks, remember to adjust beforehand so that they fit perfectly.
4. Place the larger plank on top of them and press gently.
5. Repeat the same process with the rest of the pieces.
6. Let it harden completely.
   

Prepare yolk mixture for the sponge cake.

1. Pour sunflower oil to a frying pan and place over medium heat. Let it heat up, but do not let it smoke.
2. Once it has reached this point, add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Stir until both ingredients are fully integrated, resulting in a dense, crumbly, blond-coloured dough.
3. Pour into a glass bowl and leave to cool completely.
4. Once it has cooled, add the flour mixture into a large bowl. Pour in the milk and mix with a whisk.
5. Incorporate the egg yolks and mix again, to achieve a smoother texture.
6. Add the pinch of salt together with the baking powder and the vanilla, mix again until homogenised.
7. Set aside.

Prepare meringue for the sponge cake.

1. Line a 25 x 38 x 2.5 cm rectangular baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
2. In the bowl of the KitchenAid, add the egg whites and begin to whip.
3. Once they start to foam, add 1/3 of the total sugar. Start increasing the speed progressively until you reach medium-high speed.
4. Add the rest of the sugar in two more batches.
5. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks are achieved, we are not looking for stiff peaks. You can see the consistency in the video.

Mix the egg yolk mixture with the meringue.

1. Start adding the meringue, in batches and with gentle, enveloping movements. In my case I have used a whisk, it is very easy for both mixtures to integrate well if we work the dough gently and without stirring hard.

Pour into the mould and bake.

1. Preheat the oven to 355ºF/180ºC with heat up and down. Remember to preheat it before starting to make the sponge cake.
2. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and smooth the surface with a spatula or scraper.
3. Place in the oven at medium heat and bake for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven, unmould and leave to cool on a wire rack.
5. Once it has cooled, cut the ends with a knife.
6. Divide the piece into two equal parts. In my case, the result was 2 rectangles of 19 x 15 cm, approximately.
7. Wrap with film, individually, and set aside.

Prepare yuzu namelaka.

1. Hydrate the gelatin in very cold water 20 minutes before working with it.
2. In a saucepan, add the milk and glucose. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
3. Once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add the drained and previously hydrated gelatin. Mix with a whisk until completely homogenized.
4. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the melted chocolate, stir well with the whisk to homogenize. The mixture may thicken, this is normal, do not worry.
5. Add another small amount and mix again. Repeat this step until all the milk has been blended.
6. Once the whole quantity of milk is incorporated, mix with the whisk until its temperature is reduced to 104ºF/40ºC.
7. Incorporate yuzu paste and mix again until homogenized.
8. Beat with a hand mixer to help it blend perfectly.
9. Finally, add the cold whipping cream and beat with the hand blender to emulsify.
10. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 12-24 hours to stabilize.
11. This cream can be used directly from the cold, it is not necessary to whip or whip it.

Assemble the cake.

1. Place on a rotating cake stand an anti-slip and, on it, a cake base slightly larger than the cake. Keep in mind that we will place the cookies on it later.... I did not take this into account, do not make this mistake. In my case I cut by hand a round cake base to adjust it to this size.
2. Place one of the sponge cakes on the cake base.
3. Spread a thin layer of strawberry jam and on top of it, pipe a layer of yuzu namelaka.
4. Carefully put the other sponge cake on top of the filling and delicately adjust it.
5. Spread another layer of strawberry jam on it and pipe the yuzu namelaka on top.

Decorate the outside of the cake.

1. To place the wooden planks (cookie) that will form the box, we need to attach them to the cake. To do this, pipe a few small mounds of namelaka on the cookie (as I show you in the video) and place them on the sides of the cake. Adjust carefully.
2. Once they are all in place, if it is hot, I advise you to refrigerate the cake for a couple of hours before placing the strawberries.
3. Wash the strawberries very well and dry them with kitchen paper.
4. Place the strawberries on the surface of the namelaka, simulating a strawberry box.
5. Finally, decorate with daisies and sprigs of fresh thyme if desired.
6. Serve or keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

Notes

• Honey and icing sugar can be replaced by molasses if you wish.
• This dough is firmer/hard after baking, the reason is that we need it to be this way so that the box remains stable and withstands the humidity of the stuffing and the refrigerator.
• If we don't have a baking tray with the dimensions that I detail, we can pipe the batter on a tray to give it shape and bake it. In this post you can see how to do it.
• The sponge cake is very elastic, so it is not necessary to roll it while hot to prevent it from cracking.
• Do not omit the step of cooking the flour with the oil, thanks to this process we obtain a sponge cake with these characteristics.
• The creator of the recipe advises to make some superficial and longitudinal cuts on the top and at the beginning of the side that we are going to roll to prevent it from cracking. In my case I didn't do this and the result was very good, but you can do it if you wish.
• If we exceed the baking time in the oven, we run the risk of drying out the sponge cake. This will not only affect the texture, but will also result in a dry product that will crack easily when rolled.
• The size of the tray or the thickness of the sponge cake, if we pipe it, will directly influence the final baking time.
• If we make the sponge cake one or two days before, we will keep it refrigerated and wrapped in plastic wrap. You can store it once it is cut, so that it takes up less space in the refrigerator.
• Yuzu paste can be replaced by any other variety of concentrated paste; orange, lemon.... Try to use flavors that go well with strawberries. You can also omit the concentrated fruit paste and make the white chocolate namelaka directly.
• If you wish, you can create a box with a variety of fruits; strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, blackcurrants... Instead of a box of strawberries only.
• Daisies and sprigs of thyme are totally optional, but they do add a very country decorative touch :)
• The cake can be kept in the refrigerator, once assembled, for 3-4 days.
  

Archivado en

• Honey
• Strawberry
• Vanilla
• White chocolate