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Wimbledon Cake (Matcha Victoria Sponge)

Early summer in London is notable for two things: strawberries and Wimbledon. The two are almost synonymous. During this fortnight of spectacular tennis, 27 tons, or around two million individual strawberries, are apparently consumed at the tournament itself! You won’t need quite that many strawberries for this beautiful cake—just 24, sandwiched between the matcha green tea layers, will do it—but make sure they’re luscious and sweet. I first made this cake when friends invited us over to watch the Wimbledon final. It started as a bit of a gimmick—a vaguely green-tinged Victoria sandwich cake with strawberries and cream—but it wasn’t half bad, so I thought it deserved refining. Adding matcha to the cake gives it a beautiful flavor, and using white chocolate in the cream creates a luxurious taste and mouthfeel. We still call this Wimbledon cake in our house—the only restriction on making it is being able to get hold of beautiful, fresh strawberries.
From Baking & The Meaning of Life by Helen Goh
Servings: 8 to 10

Ingredients

Matcha cake

  • 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons / 115g all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup / 25g cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
  • 5 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup / 140g granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. / 20g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 2 Tbsp. whole milk
  • 1 Tbsp. green tea matcha powder

White chocolate cream

  • 7 ounces / 200g white chocolate chips (or if in a block, chopped into ½ -inch/1 cm pieces)
  • 5 Tbsp. / 75g unsalted butter, softened but not oily
  • 10 oz. / 280g cream cheese, chopped into chunks if firm
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons / 270 ml heavy cream cold
  • 14 oz. / 400g strawberries about 24; try to find long, slender ones roughly the same size

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃). Grease and line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform cake pan with parchment paper.

Matcha Cake

  • To make the matcha cake, sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt into a medium bowl, then set aside.
  • Put the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, then place the bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Whisk continuously by hand for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to touch.
  • Attach the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed for 7 to 8 minutes, until the mixture has tripled in volume and is cool to touch. Decrease the speed to low and whisk for 2 minutes more to remove any large air bubbles—the mixture should look silky and smooth at the end.
  • Meanwhile, heat the butter, vegetable oil, and milk in a small saucepan over low heat. When the butter has melted, remove from the heat and add the matcha powder. Whisk until smooth, then set aside.
  • When the egg mixture has tripled in volume, scrape it into a large wide bowl—this will make it easier to fold the batter later. Scoop about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the egg mix into the pan with the matcha milk and fold until combined—you don’t need to be too careful to retain the air here—then fold this back into the large bowl with the remaining egg mixture. Now sift half the (pre-sifted) flour mix over the top, and carefully fold it through the egg mix, taking care not to lose too much air. Sift the remaining flour over and fold gently until incorporated.
  • Pour the batter into the lined cake pan and tap the pan firmly on the work surface a couple of times to remove any large air bubbles. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center of the cake feels springy to the touch. It should look uniformly light brown and well risen. Remove from the oven and immediately drop the pan twice on a heatproof work surface from about an 8-inch 20 cm) height—this feels counterintuitive, I know, but it helps to prevent the cake from sinking in the middle. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan.

White Chocolate Cream Filling

  • While the cake is baking, prepare the white chocolate cream filling. Place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a small pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Stir from time to time until melted, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool to tepid.
  • Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat well to combine, then add the cooled, melted chocolate. Continue to beat until smooth, then add the cream. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture forms soft waves, then scrape into a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (1 cm) plain tip. Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cake.

Assemble (see notes for mini cakes)

  • To assemble, hull the strawberries and slice them in half lengthwise. Place them, cut side down, on several sheets of paper towel to absorb any excess moisture.
  • Turn the cake out of the pan, then slice it in half horizontally to make 2 circular layers. Line the sides of a second, 8-inch (20 cm) springform cake pan with a strip of acetate or parchment paper (see Preparation Tip), extending 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) above the rim of the cake pan. Lower one of the cake layers into the bottom of the pan. Arrange some of the strawberries, cut side facing outward, around the edge of the cake pan, pressing against the acetate or parchment paper. Pipe the white chocolate cream between the strawberries to fill in the gaps, then pipe a 1/2-inch (1 cm) layer of cream to cover the middle of the cake. Place the remaining strawberries, flat side down, on top of the cream in the center, then cover with just enough cream to reach the top of the strawberries around the edges. Place the second cake layer on top and spread with the remaining cream.
  • Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day ahead.

Serve

  • To serve, remove the cake from the pan, peel away the acetate or parchment paper, and transfer to a serving plate.

Notes

To make the mini cakes: 
  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Line eight individual 2-inch cake molds with acetate. Set them on the prepared baking sheet.
  3. Follow the instructions for making the cake layers. Once they are cool, cut them in 3 horizontal layers instead of two. This will result in thinner layers of cake, but that works with the mini size. 
  4. Make the filling and slice the strawberries (cut them into thinner slices to line each of the individual molds). 
  5. Use a 2-inch round cutter to cut the cake layers.
  6. Place a cake round in the bottom of each lined mold. Press it flat. 
  7. fill a pastry bag fitted with a small round pastry tip with the filling. Pipe a small amount over the cake layer. Press the sliced strawberries onto the sides of the mold, against the acetate and into the cream on the bottom. Fill the center with cream until it reaches the top of the strawberry slices. Top with another layer of cake. Pipe a decorative layer of filling over the cake and top with a whole or half strawberry. 
  8. Serve as suggested.