Fresh
strawberry
buttersponge
with
mascarpone
mousse
and
strawberry
sherbet
It
will
be
completely
un-shocking
that
my
visit
to
Japan
was
more
cake-centric,
less
fish-focused.
I
ate
the
floofiest
pumpkin
doughnuts,
elegant
apple
shortbread
cookie
sandwiches,
silky
cofee
caramel
flan
and
cheesecake.
At
the
tiny
pastry
shop
Equal
Pastryshop,
I
ate
a
strawberry
shortcake
whose
perfection
made
me
want
to
hang
up
my
apron,
because
if
such
baking
beauty
already
exists
in
this
world,
then
my
efforts
are
futile.
The
Japanese
shortcake
is
their
refined
version
of
the
American
shortcake
and
is
layers
of
dairy-rich
sponge,
cream
and
strawberries.
Eating
it
feels
like
hugging
a
puppy,
the
first
day
of
t-shirt
weather
in
spring
and
knowing
you
are
loved
all
at
once.
This
isn’t
the
greatest
cake
in
the
world.
Equal
makes
that.
This
is
just
a
tribute.
Heat
the
oven
to
140°C
(285°F).
Lightly
spray
a
40
cm
×
30
cm
×
2
cm
(15¾
in
×
12
in
×
¾
in)
deep
tin
with
cooking
oil
and
line
with
one
sheet
of
baking
paper.
It’s
okay
if
the
long
tray
sides
are
exposed.
Keep
the
short
side
paper
flush
with
the
tin
edge.
Trim
flappy
paper
–
the
enemy
of
smooth
cake
tops
everywhere.
Leaving
the
paper
un-sprayed
will
pull
the
bottom
crust
away – a
good
and
deliberate
thing
for
this
blond
layered
cake.
If
you
want
the
crust,
spray
the
paper
after
lining
the
tin.
Place
the
butter
and
lemon
zest
in
a
small
saucepan
over
a
medium–
high
heat
and
cook
until
the
butter
is
sunshine
yellow
with
white
milk
solids
on
the
base.
When
cooked,
pour
the
yellow
butter
into
a
wide
mixing
bowl,
leaving
the
white
solids
behind,
and
immediately
add
the
milk
to
cool
the
mixture
down
quickly.
Hand
whisk
in
the
egg
yolks
and
vanilla.
Makes
A
20
cm
(8
in)
cake
for
8–12.
Takes
1
hour
to
make,
bake
and
cool
Keeps
Up
to
3
days.
the
sponge.
Just
over
1
hour
to
make
the
mousse
and
assemble.
Chill
at
least
4
hours,
but
ideally
overnight.
cooking
oil
spray
Buttersponge
cake
100
g
(3½
oz)
unsalted
butter
finely
grated
zest
of
1
lemon
130
g/ml
(4½
oz)
full-cream
(whole)
milk
80
g
(2¾
oz)
egg
yolk
(from
approx.
4
eggs)
+
240
g
(8½
oz)
egg
whites
(from
approx.
8
eggs)
10
g
(¼
oz/1
teaspoon)
vanilla
paste
150
g
(5½
oz)
self-raising
flour
(OR
145
g/5
oz
soft
plain/
all-purpose
flour
+
7
g/¼
oz
baking
powder)
2
g
(1⁄16
oz/¼
teaspoon)
salt
3
g
(¹
⁄
₁₀
oz/heaped
¼
teaspoon)
cream
of
tartar
170
g
(6
oz)
caster
(superfine)
sugar
continued
…