Fat free strawberry soft cake
Today I am sharing a recipe from my great aunt Norina who is now 95 years old. Norina left Italy when she was a young girl and emigrated to France to join her husband. She used to return to Italy regularly to visit her sisters and nephews. She was such a brilliant cook and this recipe was one of the best ones she passed on to my mother. This cake is ideal for spring/summer as it has fresh fruit and it is light.
This is a very simple sponge cake with no fat added. To moisten the sponge you need to soak it with either some liquor mixed with water (like rum) or fruit juice. I have used pineapple juice which seems to go so well with the freshness of the strawberries.
I was a child when my mother used to make this cake over and over again. When I was 13 I started making it myself as it was so simple to prepare.
I have served it with whipped cream as it goes well with strawberries but it is nice just on its own too.
- Prep Time : 25 minutes
- Cook Time : 23 minutes
Ingredients
- self raising flour - 140 g - 1 + 3/8 cup
- sugar - 100 g - 1/2 cup
- zest of 1 lemon
- lemon juice - 3 tbsp
- eggs - 3
- fresh strawberries - 400 g - 2 cups
- red jam (like strawberry or plum) - 2 tbsp
- pineapple juice - 200 ml - 7 fl oz
Instructions
Take the eggs out of the fridge and let them cool down at room temperature.
Whip the egg whites with half of the sugar until really firm. Whip the yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and creamy.
Gently stir in the egg whites with the yolks and add the flour sifted with the zest of the lemon and the juice.
Stir well and pour onto a well greased mold measuring approx 22cm or 9 inch, level it well with a spatula and bake at 180C or 350F for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden on top.
Let the cake cool down, remove it from the mold. Put it on a serving dish and moisten it with the pineapple juice.
Wash and slice the strawberries as thinly as you can and place them nicely on the cake.
Put the jam in a saucepan with 2 tbsp of water and melt it over a source of heat whilst stirring all the time for a few minutes.
Brush the strawberries with the jam and serve with whipped cream if you wish.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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This cake is amazing. A slice for me, please 🙂
That was gorgeous, Alida. You are an amazing baker.
Thanks Angie!
che bello cara !!!!
Dear Alida,
So beautiful! This cake is so pretty to look at you don’t want to cut it. Love the color of the strawberries and such an easy dessert to make. This is a wonderful tasty and mouthwatering cake to serve for guests or even just your family. God Bless your great aunt Norina. (love that name) She knew what is delizioso! I think my mom would love this. I have to try this for her maybe next weekend. Have to get the berries. I will let you know how it goes.. Have a good rest of the week dear friend..
Love and hugs Dottie x
Thanks Dottie and hope you are well 🙂
Look at all those delicious strawberries! This looks like such a fresh spring dessert. I love it when people share their family recipes, it feels like there is history in them.
Thanks, yes lots of memories on this cake.. it brings me back to my childhood.
Buonissima questa torta, soffice e fragolosa, bravissima! Buona giornata, baci!
Grazie cara Vanna.
An irresistible cake, light and fruity – perfetto!
Grazie cara! Ne farò un’altra presto!
è bellissima e di certo le fragole oltre al sapore delizioso sono profumate !
Your aunt Norina was excellent when creating this recipe, and you are excellent too. I always love any thing with strawberries, so there is no reason for not to love your fat free strawberry soft cake. Thanks Alida for sharing your story of your aunt and bring the recipe here.
Thanks Anna!
Ma che meraviglia di torta Alida, complimenti!!!
Semplicemente meravigliosa!!!!! Complimenti! Anche il blog è bellissimo! unospicchiodimelone!
Grazie 1000!