Seasonal cakes and cupcakes, baked slowly at home

Japanese-style patisserie from my kitchen: airy sponges, barely sweet creams, and flavours that change with the calendar. Recipes, notes, and the occasional collapsed chiffon.

Ichigo shortcake, the cake that started this blog

Bake by the season

In Japanese patisserie, the flavour follows the month. Pick a season to see what I baked.

From the journal

Classic ichigo shortcake

A genoise sponge that stays soft for days, lightly sweetened cream, and the ripest strawberries you can find. Makes one 15 cm cake.

Prep 40 minBake 30 minServes 6

Ingredients

Sponge

  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 90 g caster sugar
  • 90 g cake flour, sifted twice
  • 20 g unsalted butter and 20 ml milk, warmed together

Syrup and cream

  • 30 g sugar dissolved in 50 ml hot water
  • 300 ml cream (35% fat or higher), cold
  • 25 g sugar
  • About 400 g strawberries

Method

  1. Whisk the eggs and sugar over a warm water bath until just warm to the touch, then beat on high until the batter falls in thick ribbons that hold for a few seconds.

  2. Fold in the flour in two parts, then the warm butter and milk. Bake at 170°C for about 30 minutes, drop the tin once onto the counter, and cool upside down.

  3. Slice the sponge into three layers and brush each with syrup. Whip the cream with sugar to soft peaks for spreading and a little firmer for piping.

  4. Layer cream and halved strawberries, cover the cake in a thin smooth coat, then pipe rosettes and crown each one with a whole berry. Chill for an hour before slicing.

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[Your photo in the kitchen]

Hello, I’m [Your name]

I bake cakes and cupcakes in a small home kitchen, inspired by the patisseries of Japan, where a strawberry shortcake is a quiet work of precision and every season has its own flavour.

[A line or two about how you started baking, where you are based, and whether you take orders.]