Eggless Sponge Cake

1. Preheat oven at 180°C/355°F.

2. In a glass, add milk and vinegar. Give it a quick mix and set aside. (this is homemade buttermilk)

3. Sift all the dry ingredients. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, add sugar, oil, salt and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

5. Add in the milk mixture in 3 batches, alternate with the sifted dry ingredients. Mix until combined.

6. Add in the sifted dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternate with the milk mixture. Mix until combined, do not over mixed. This simple alternate adding technique will give you a great cake outcome (fluffy and light, not dense). If you’re using a whisk, switch to a spatula to scrape the bowl to ensure even mixing.

7. Transfer to a 6-inch pan, greased and lined with parchment paper. Tap the pan on the table few times to release trapped air bubbles.

8. Bake in preheated oven at 180°C/355°F for 30-35 min or until inserted skewer comes out clean.

9. Once out of the oven, immediately remove cake from the pan and let cool completely before slicing.

10. Slice the cake into 3 sheets, 1.5cm thick each sheet.

11. Trimming the sides or brown edges is optional.

Strawberry Sauce (you may refer to this video link (https://youtu.be/46gX1LFovcE)

1. Chopped the strawberries.

2. In a pot, add the berries, sugar and lemon juice.

3. Cook it over a low heat until it become a thick sauce.

4. Use a mash to mash the berries.

5. Once the sauce is thickened, remove the pot from the heat.

6. Strain the sauce. Let the sauce cool. Set aside until needed.

Whipped Cream Frosting

1. In a mixing bowl, add the cream and sugar.

2. Mix until the cream is thickened.

3. Transfer about half the cream into another bowl. Use a weighing scale to be precise. Cover the cream and refrigerate until it is needed for use. This cream is for covering the cake and piping the deco.

4. Continue mixing the other half until stiff. This half is for the fillings.

5. Transfer this cream into a piping bag.

6. For the other half of the cream, use a whisk instead of using an electric mixer because the thickened cream will soon reach the smooth consistency within a minute or two. Use your whisk to pick up the cream, the cream will be smooth with a small tail falling back, that will be the consistency we want for covering the cake.

Strawberry décor

1. Slice the fresh strawberries, about 2mm thick.

2. Use a round cutter of about 1.5cm diameter. Cut each slice for round circles.

Assemble the Cake

1. Place a layer of sponge cake.

2. Brush with sugar syrup.

3. Spread half of the strawberry sauce on the layer. (just leave a tiny bit for drizzle later)

4. Pipe a layer of whipped cream.

5. Add the chopped strawberry. Cover with a thin layer of cream.

6. Repeat no. 1 to 5.

7. Cover a thin layer of the same frosting. Refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes.

8. Cover the cake with the smooth and soft frosting that was whisked.

9. Decorate around the sides with the cut strawberry circles.

10. Drizzle the top with some strawberry sauce.

11. Decorate some fresh whole and strawberry halves.

12. Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes before cutting it.