Sponge Cake with Poached Pear

Visiting Korean bakeries—or better yet, the food halls in Korean department stores—is an experience on its own. For food lovers, the sight of perfectly wrapped fruits displayed like jewelry and rows of airy sponge cakes is almost overwhelming. Often called Saeng Cream Cake (fresh cream cake) or Castella, these light, cloud‑soft cakes are known for their subtle sweetness and billowy whipped cream. They’re a staple of Korean bakeries and the go‑to choice for birthdays and celebrations.

INGREDIENTS
Serve 6 people generously

Using a 15cm (6 inches pan)
3 Egg whites
90 Gr. Sugar
3 Egg yolks
25 Gr. Milk at room temperature
25 Gr. Vegetable oil
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
90 Gr. cake flour or all purpose flour

PREPARATION

Preheat your oven at 170 Celsius – using convection setting.

Place parchment paper at the bottom of the cake pan and around its parameter. You can also brush the pan with butter and sprinkle flour, so the cake pan surface is fully covered with flour.

First and foremost, before making this cake, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature, especially the eggs.
Separate the egg whites from the yolks and place them in a medium-size bowl.

Using a hand mixer, whip the eggs whites until they start to thicken. When the preparation start to really thicken, add half of the sugar and continue mixing for about 30-40 seconds. Then add the remaining sugar.
Continue beating until you have a thick egg white preparation which holds its shape.

Add the egg yolks and continue beating, until fully incorporated.

Pour the milk, vanilla extract and oil and fold everything using a spatula.
Once completely incorporated, add the sifted flour using a spatula to fold everything.

Pour the mixture in your cake pan and bake at 170 Celsius for 30 minutes, until golden brown. I

cool my cake for at least 30 minutes, and place it upside down to ensure the cake does not collapse.

Once cooled, cut the cake in 3 equal portions lengthwise and cover with Chantilly cream and add a fruit of your choice.
In this instance, I used poached pears, cut in thin slices. For this, you peel two ripe pears and cook them for about 10 minutes, in a mixture of of two cups of water and one cup of sugar. You know the pears are cooked when you insert a knife in the center of the fruit and it gives right away. Cool them on a rack and then slice them thinly.
You can also use canned goods if you don’t have fresh fruits at hand; mango, peach and even pineapple slices work very well.

CHANTILLY CREAM

30 Gr. Cream cheese at room temperature
2 Cups of Heavy Cream
30 Gr. Powder sugar. (1/4 Cup)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract

Want to know how to make a whipped cream which will not fall and keep its shape overnight – Easy enough.
Use a ratio of 30 grams of cream cheese at room temperature with two cups of heavy cream. This will make for a cream that holds its shape; perfect for piping.

In a medium size bowl, pour the cream cheese, cream, sugar and vanilla and using a hand held mixer, beat until you have hard peaks. That’s it !!!