Last updated 11:37, Thursday, 26 June 2008

IN this fourth article on Back to Baking, Grainne Jakobson shows you how to make a light-as-air fatless sponge.

TASTE Of SUMMER: A lovely strawberry cake to enjoy with company on a long summer evening in the garden

I still remember making this in a domestic science class years ago as an example of a whisked cake.

For my summer version I have filled it with strawberries and cream for a perfect, indulgent, summer cake.

The beautiful and juicy strawberry has over the centuries signified love and passion. Nowadays, a simple bowl of strawberries and cream, a glazed strawberry tart or some fresh strawberry jam never fails to please. It is the quintessential summer fruit as the harvest of our British strawberries coincides with the start of the summer time.

Strawberries are always associated with Wimbledon fortnight but fortunately we don’t have to pay the exorbitant prices of those on sale at the centre courts!

Strawberries are available all year round and imported into Britain from many different countries but these (often gigantic) berries are unlikely to match the flavour of the British grown ones. Many of these berries are ‘watery’ with a poor flavour.

The British berries have the advantage of being picked a soon as they are ripe and coloured, whereas the imported fruits are picked while still ‘green’ and haven’t developed their true flavour. They are then left to ripen on the long air or sea journeys here. Even worse are the imported berries that are packed in plastic boxes which are then inflated with ethylene gases to artificially bring on the ripening and the colour change.

One of the best ways to buy the fruit is from a Pick Your Own farm where you can go along with your family or friends and, literally, pick them off the plants yourself. It can be a little hard on your back but it doesn’t take long to fill your punnet.

As a child I remember sticking, if I could get away with it, to the maxim ‘one for me and one for the box’. I can’t remember being caught but this could be me looking back on life through ‘rose-tinted glasses’!

I don’t know of any farms such as this in the immediate area but if you come across them when out and about then they are worth the extra journey not just in terms of price but also quality.

Growing your own is always a possibility so you could plan ahead for next summer. Strawberry plants are available from autumn and they soon grow lots of little plantlets to increase your bed. When they are grown in the ground and the fruits begin to ‘set’ it is traditional to tuck straw around them to stop them getting splashed by the rain – hence the name strawberries.

The straw also helps to deter slugs and snails.

An easy way to grow the berries are in the special pots available from garden centres that have the little pockets in the sides to push in the plants or you can even put a few plants into a hanging basket. You won’t get many berries but they will be delicious!

Even easier to grow are the tiny alpine strawberries. These attractive little plants spread easily and are useful for covering up any scruffy area as they will grow in poor soil with the added bonus of the pretty white flowers that soon develop into the tiny berries. I have used them to decorate my summer gateau.

If you can’t pick or grow then just head down to the nearest supermarket and look for the Union Jack on the box for some lovely berries.

SECRETS OF A SIMPLE FATLESS SPONGE

THIS sponge is made by the whisking method; this incorporates air into the mixture. No raising agent is used which results in a very fine-textured sponge. The mixture could also be used to make a sponge flan to fill with, for example, tinned mandarin oranges or for little sponge fairy cakes. Makes 1 x 20cm (8in) cake.

INGREDIENTS: 3 large eggs (Note: Older eggs whisk better than the very fresh); 75g (3 oz) caster sugar (I prefer unrefined sugar); 75g (3oz) plain flour.

METHOD: Grease and base line the tin. Pre heat the oven to 160C (325F) Gas 3.

Using an electric mixer whip together the eggs and the sugar until the mixture is very pale and fluffy. Then, using a sieve, sprinkle approximately a third of the flour over the surface of the mixture and very lightly fold it in. Use a flexible, rubber spatula in a figure of eight movement to cut through the mixture mixing in the flour whilst trying to keep air in the mixture. If this is difficult it is more important to keep the air in the mixture than to get rid of all the dry pockets of air! When the cake is filled you won’t notice them.

 Pour the mixture into the tin gently. Level the surface of the mixture and bake for about 40 minutes or until the sponge is risen and the top ‘springy’ to touch.

Allow the cake to cool for a few minutes in the tin. Then run a knife around the sides to loosen it and turn out onto a wire try to cool. Remove the lining paper carefully.

The unfilled sponge keeps for three or four days in a tin or it can be frozen for up to three months.

TO FILL: Resting your outstretched hand gently on the top of the cake split it in two with a sharp knife. I find this easier to do by making small cuts right around the cake and then cutting it right through the middle.

Lightly whip the cream (don’t make it too firm) and add a little sugar. Cut up the strawberries and if they are juicy then dry them off on some kitchen paper. Arrange them on top of the cream.

Decorate the top with more strawberries if you want and a sprinkling of caster sugar.

FINDING OUT MORE

DO you want to learn to cook with confidence, brush up your skills or learn new ones or simply want to enjoy lunch or dinner with a cookery demonstration in beautiful surroundings? Regular demonstration sessions and practical sessions are held at Woodend House and can be tailor made to your requirements and interests. Grainne is happy to answer any culinary questions or give advice on any aspect of cooking.

Address: Woodend Cookery, Woodend House, Woodend, Egremont, CA22 2TA.

Phone: (01946)813017.

Email: gmjakobson@aol.com

Website: www.woodendcookery.co.uk.