Strawberry sponge-cake with cream and jelly

Classical strawberry sponge-cake with cream, jelly and bunch of juicy strawberries. One of the best choices for hot summertime, is simple to prepare and can have as many variations as many fruits available. Strongly recommended. 

Polish version

Ingredients for strawberry jelly with fresh strawberries:

• 2 packages powder strawberry jelly
• 500ml water (amount of water is decreased to enhance jelling process)
• 250g fresh strawberries (with hulls removed)

Prepare the jelly using procedure described on the package. Remember to decrease water amount by half. Cool it down in room temperature for half an hour and put it into fridge. Check every half an hour the jelling progress. At the end, the jelly should be still half solid half liquid. If too solid, warm the bottom of the bowl with hot water.  Jelling process in the fridge should take ca 1,5-2 hours.  In the meantime prepare a sponge cake and cream.

Ingredients for sponge cake ( Mould diameter: 26cm, height of the cake 2 cm): 

* for many years I have been using this recipe (from my favorite Polish culinary blog 'Moje Wypieki', I strongly recommend it.  One interesting thing about that cake is, after baking you have to throw it down on the floor, then you hear silent 'puff' and the cake is ready :) The original recipe (in Polish) you'll find here. 

• 3 large eggs
• half a glass fine sugar
• half a glass wheat flour 
• 2 table spoons potato flour/ starch 
• 2  tablespoons vanilla flavor
• pinch of salt

Separate egg whites from yolks. Whisk the whites to rigid foam. Add sugar, still whisking, add egg yolks to make uniform mixture. Sieve the flour to the dough, stir it with wooden spoon.  Pour the dough to the mould (bottom of the mould should be covered with baking paper). Bake in 338 F (170 C deg.) for 40 minutes.  Check the cake with wooden stick. If the stick is wet, bake longer.

After baking:
Put the dishtowel on the floor. Take out the cake from the oven.  Drop it carefully  on the floor (distance of 50 cm should be safe). Remember that for this procedure you cannot use glass or silicone mould. If you don't drop the cake it is still alright.
Then again put it to the oven (do not turn it on again). Let the cake cool down and don't take it out from the mould. 

Ingredients for the cream:

• cream 30%
• 200g mascarpone cheese
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract/ flavor

Beat the cream with mixer, add sugar, still beating. Add mascarpone, stir it with spoon. Add vanilla extract. Put the cream on the cooled cake. Put the strawberries on the cream (as in the picture below). Pour almost ready jelly on the fruits. Cool it down in the fridge at least 2 hours before serving.  

Enjoy!