Strawberry Cream Cakelettes

Recently it was the birthday of a friend of mine and so I decided that I wanted to make him some kind of delicious cake. My initial thought went to a classic Victoria sponge and so I went and collected the appropriate ingredients...well just cream and strawberries. 

However when I returned home I decided that I wanted to do something else and playing on my mind was my recent trip to Patisserie Valerie in London and all the lovely cream cakes on display there. Further, I was not sure about presenting him with an entire Victoria sponge and saying "There! Eat that!". After all, he does live alone. 

So instead I came up with a mini play on the Victoria sponge and I am pleased to say that it worked a real treat. This is what the British classic would look like if it were French. It is a lot of work to be honest but worth it in the end. 

This recipe should make four cakes. If you have another sponge recipe that you prefer then go ahead and use it. You can also make them as small or large as you like. 

Ingredients:

For the filling:

1/2 a punnet of strawberries (washed and halved) 

2 pots of double cream

For the sponge:

110g butter

110g caster sugar

110g self raising flour

2 large eggs (or 3 small ones)

For the spirals:

1 cup of caster sugar

You will also need one or two 28cm cake tins

Medium size round cutter shape or a large glass (around 7-8cm in diameter)

A wooden spoon with the handle oiled with some olive oil

Sponge:

From the sponge ingredients, blend the caster sugar and butter together. Then add the flour and eggs and combine well to form a smooth batter. Pour half the batter into one tin and half into the other (or cook each separately if you only have one tin). You should have a very thin layer in each tin. Cook each half for about 25 minutes in the oven at 200°C. 

They should come out golden and like sponge pancakes of about 1cm thick or less.  Cut out 4 circles from each sponge layer (think logistically before you cut) and lay them on a plate to cool. 

Cream:

Whip the cream in a bowl with a drop of vanilla essence. Whip until you can hold it above your head, without getting cream in your hair (be confident that you have reached this stage before you attempt this!). Set the cream aside. 

Spirals: 

From the spirals ingredients, place half of the caster sugar in a pan over a low heat and cook until it begins to go brown and gooey (keep stirring), then add the other half and keep cooking until you have a smooth caramel. Turn off the heat and let the caramel cool until it is mouldable, yet not runny anymore. 

If you have any problems with the spirals then there is an excellent tutorial available here: 

http://candy.about.com/od/phototutorials/ss/sugar_corkscrews_sbs.htm

Now, carefully take a spoon and scoop a bit of caramel. As the long threads of caramel hang, loop (or wind) them around the wooden spoon handle in a spiral shape. Then wait a moment until they are solid and then slip them off the end of the spoon handle. Voila! This sounds very difficult but it is actually very easy. Make a few spirals and then place the delicately aside. 

Assembly:

For the final assembly arrange four sponge circles on a plate. On each put a layer of cream and then arrange the strawberry halves around the outside, then put another layer of cream on-top. Repeat the same process (without the last cream addition) and then top with the sugar spirals. 

Phew! What a bother! Well worth it though :)