This Japanese strawberry shortcake is made with moist and fluffy vanilla sponge cake layers filled with light-as-cloud Chantilly cream and fresh strawberries. It’s a stunningly beautiful dessert you’ll want to make again and again.
I’ve always resisted making beautiful cakes.
Too many steps, too much time, and a big blow to my self-confidence when I muck it up. Until I saw my first Japanese strawberry shortcake in a Tokyo bakery.
Tempted by bright red strawberries and swirls of whipped cream in layers of delicate sponge, I stepped inside for a taste.
Hints of sweet vanilla and cream-coated strawberries with warm and fruity notes linger as the last crumbs melt away.
I was forever hooked. I’ve found the perfect cake to bake for the holidays.
But can I pull off this beautiful cake without pulling my hair over every detail?
You’ll be thrilled to know, yes! I’ve made this from scratch many times, and I can’t believe how quick and easy it comes together. I’m not a cake expert, but if I can do this, you can too – no special skills required.
Japanese Christmas strawberry shortcake: the perfect cake for the holidays
If I took one thing back with me from Japan, it’s appreciating that a holiday cake doesn’t need to be rich, cloyingly sweet, or so heavy that it sits like a ton of bricks in your tummy.
The Japanese enjoy this strawberry shortcake all year round but more so at Christmas, when they eat it on Christmas Eve.
This rich and moist fruit cake is my favourite holiday cake, but a Japanese Christmas cake is definitely going to be a permanent addition.
It’s not too sweet, alcohol free, and calorie light so you don’t have to run a 5-mile marathon to burn off the indulgence.
How to make a stunning Japanese strawberry shortcake in less than 3 hours
Now, let’s look at the basic components of a Japanese strawberry shortcake:
- Vanilla sponge cake (1.5 hours)
I use a tried and tested genoise sponge cake recipe by Japanese Chef Keiko Ishida. With 6 ingredients, this sponge bakes extra moist, airy and fluffy – just like the ones you’ll get in Japan. It’s the real deal – it’s classic, authentic and melt-in-the-mouth delicious. - Chantilly cream (15 mins)
This is a simple whipped cream flavoured with vanilla and sweetened with sugar. A dairy cream with at least 35 – 38% butterfat content works best. I love the flavour of dairy creams, but a non-dairy whipping cream will work fine too. - Strawberries (10 mins)
Ripe, sweet strawberries with a bit of tartness are perfect. Slice it how you like it, but leave the best-looking ones whole for decorating. - Light syrup (5 mins)
Made with sugar and water, a light syrup helps the cake stay moist. Brush liberally onto the sponge layers before spreading the cream and fruit (plus it’s a real life-saver too for sponges that baked a bit dry.) - Assembly (30 mins)
How to decorate a strawberry shortcake: No skills required
If you can slap peanut butter on toast and squirt ketchup out of a squeeze bottle, you can do this.
To imitate this Japanese styling, a few basic tools are essential (I have a stress-free decorating tip for you later, so don’t panic just yet):
- piping tip. I use Ateco #827 Open Star tip or the slightly smaller Wilton 1M tip.
- piping bag. I use an 18-inch disposable decorating bag like this one.
- offset spatula. This OXO Good Grips offset spatula pulls off any icing job easily.
- pastry brush. A silicon pastry brush makes brushing easy and effortless.
- cake scraper. I use this one for a smooth finish on the cake.
- cake turntable. If you’re new to cake decorating, splurge on a cake turntable because the difference in results will amaze you.
Stress-free decorating tip for beginners!
Don’t want to bother with frosting and fancy piping? I’ve got you covered!
Make a beautiful, rustic-looking strawberry shortcake by sandwiching the sponge layers with cream and strawberries, leaving the sides bare.
Then go big on top.
- spread a generous layer of whipped cream.
- pile on the strawberries – use a mix of whole as well as sliced halves and quarters. Add a bit of blueberries, blackberries or raspberries, if you like, for a colourful mix.
- sprinkle over with icing sugar.
- garnish with mint or rosemary leaves.
Voila, you’ve now got a show-stopping dessert you’ll be proud to show off!
Easy step by step guide: Japanese strawberry shortcake
Step 1. Bake the sponge cake
Bake the sponge cake and let it cool completely or overnight in the chiller. Do not fill or frost the cake while warm, as the cream may melt. Slice into 3 horizontal layers.
Step 2. Whip up the cream
Combine whipping cream, icing sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Whip until stiff peaks. Set the whipped cream in the chiller until needed.
Step 3. Prepare the syrup
Dissolve 1 tablespoon of sugar in 2 tablespoons of boiling water and let the syrup cool.
Step 4. Slice the strawberries
Choose the best-looking ones for the cake topping. For the filling, cut a few strawberries into halves or slices.
Step 5. The fun part – assembly
- Bottom layer. Brush syrup on the first sponge layer with a clean pastry brush. Then spread a thick layer of whipped cream with an offset spatula.
- Middle layer: Align the second layer and brush with syrup again. Cover with whipped cream. Place the sliced strawberries on top. Leave half-inch (1-cm) of the edge and the center free so you get neat edges when you slice the cake. Spread more whipped cream to cover the strawberries.
- Top layer: Place the last sponge cake layer on top and brush with syrup. Crumb-coat the top and sides of the cake, including all the empty pockets in between the layers. Scrape off the excess cream with the offset spatula. Then chill the cake for 15 minutes.
- Final coat: Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thick layer of whipped cream – leaving enough for the piped decorations. Smoothen with a cake scraper or offset spatula.
- Decorating: Fit a piping bag with a piping tip and fill with the remaining whipped cream. Pipe the patterns. Decorate with whole and cut strawberries, as desired. Sift icing sugar over the fruit, or brush with a glaze.
Step 6. Chilling
Lastly, chill the assembled cake overnight in the refrigerator to firm up the cream.
It will taste even more amazing. Overnight chilling allows the flavors of the cake to come together beautifully.
The sponge layers will absorb the syrup, turning extra moist, and the strawberries will soften and taste sweeter.
How to get beautiful strawberry shortcake slices
Have you seen those picture-perfect strawberry shortcake slices and wonder how they get it so neat?
Here are some tips:
How to store Japanese strawberry shortcake
A filled and frosted strawberry shortcake keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To enjoy it at its freshest, consume within the first 3 days.
If you plan to make this ahead, I recommend baking the sponge cake and freezing it.
Thaw the frozen sponge cake overnight in the chiller the day before you plan to fill and frost. Let the finished cake chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight, to firm up the cream.
Japanese Strawberry Shortcake: How to Make a Stunning {Easy} Dessert
Save For Later Click the button to save for later!Say goodbye to complicated desserts with 20 steps, a day’s work, and pulling your hair over a hundred decorating details that could go wrong.
In less time than the hours you’ll spend mulling over countless holiday cake options, you’ll have a beautiful dessert on your hands you can be proud of!
The best part? You won’t need a pastry chef’s skills to pull off this stunning Japanese strawberry shortcake.
Love more light desserts? Browse these easy, bake-from-scratch treats:
Japanese Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients
For the sponge cake
- 1 vanilla sponge cake round 6/7-inch (15/18-cm)
- 12 fresh strawberries
For the Chantilly cream
- 875 g whipping cream 35 – 38% butterfat
- 60 g confectioner's sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the syrup
- 12 g sugar
- 30 g hot water
Instructions
- Make the sponge cake: Bake the sponge cake and let it cool completely before using, or preferably overnight in the chiller (recommended). Slice the cake into 3 layers of equal height. Tip: For a professional bakery look, slice the brown crust off the top of the cake.
- Make the Chantilly cream: Chill the stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment. Start with cold whipping cream in the bowl, and add the confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract. Whip on medium speed until soft peaks start to form – this is when you start to see the whisk form trail lines in the cream. Watch carefully as you whip, and stop as soon as you see stiff peaks. Keep the whipped cream in the chiller until needed.
- Prepare the strawberries: Choose the best-looking ones for the cake topping. For the filling between the cake layers, cut a few strawberries into halves or slices, as desired.
- Make the syrup: Dissolve 1 tbsp sugar in 2 tbsps boiling water. Cool before using.
Assemble the cake
- Bottom layer: With a clean pastry brush, brush syrup on the sponge layer. Using an offset spatula, spread a generous layer of whipped cream on top.
- Middle layer: Place another sponge layer neatly on top. Brush with syrup and spread whipped cream in an even layer. Place the strawberry halves or slices, leaving 0.5-inch (1-cm) of the edge free. Keep the centre free as well so you can get neat edges when you cut the cake. Spread whipped cream on top until it covers the top of the strawberries.
- Top layer: Place the last sponge cake layer neatly on top and brush with syrup. Fill the sides of the cake, making sure you get cream into the pockets in between the layers. Crumb-coat the top and sides with a thin layer of whipped cream. Scrape off the excess cream with the offset spatula. Chill the cake for 15 minutes.
- Final coat: Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thick layer of whipped cream – make sure you have enough left for your piped decorations. Smoothen all around with a cake scraper or offset spatula.
- Decorate: Fit a piping bag with your choice of piping tip and fill with the remaining whipped cream. Pipe the patterns. Decorate with whole and cut strawberries, as desired. Brush with neutral gel or glaze, or sift some confectioner's sugar over the fruit.
- Chill: Chill the assembled cake for at least 4 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator to firm up the cream. Tip: Overnight chilling allows the flavours of the cake to meld together beautifully! Best eaten within 3 days once filled and frosted.
Celia Lim says
Hi Bel, thank you so much for your feedback! I’m so pleased you enjoy making this recipe. Yes, you can still add 1 tsp vanilla extract if you like a bolder vanilla flavour. I personally love vanilla flavour, so I tend to use more than less.
Bel says
Hi Celia, this recipe is a keeper and I have baked it quite a few times 🙂 Just to check that if I left only 400g of the red man whipping cream, can I still put 1 tsp of vanilla extract?
Celia Lim says
Hi Emily, thanks for writing in! Usually, likely causes of cakes cracking are too hot an oven temperature, using a pan that’s slightly too small, or too much of raising or leavening agent. However, usually these cracks appear on the top. I’ve not had cracks in the side of the cake happen, lol! It’s hard to say without seeing a pic of it, wish I could be of more help, Emily.
Celia Lim says
Hi Joanne, thank you so much for sharing! I’m so glad your cake was enjoyed so greatly. It sounds like the whipped cream may not have been whipped long enough to stiff peak consistency. You’ll need to whisk until the cream stays firm on the whisk, and the end does not droop back on itself. If you did whip the cream sufficiently, I think it helps to chill the frosted cake overnight in the refrigerator, to allow the whipped cream to set and firm up a little. In fact, I usually prepare and frost this cake at least a day before I intend to serve it. It will firm up nicely, the flavours will come together better, and it will slice neatly if it’s kept chilled right until the time you need to serve it. Hope this helps!
Joanne says
Hi Celia, thank you for your wonderful recipe. My family enjoyed it greatly. However, the cream was not as firm as I like as it was quite messy slicing the cake. Perhaps I did not whisk it long enough? Can you please advise how long should I whisk it for.
Celia Lim says
Hello Eileen, I’m so excited you’re thinking of giving this recipe a try! You can use vanilla extract instead of butter oil, butter oil is like an intense butter-flavoured extract. I really hope this one works out for you!?Happy baking!
Eileen says
Hi Celia, chance upon your recipe while “mouring” over my failed attempt(2x) with other recipe. Will definitely try yours! Btw, what’s butter oil, can i substitute with vanilla extract or melted butter?
Celia Lim says
Hi Forest, thank you so much for taking a chance with this cake recipe. I’m so very glad to hear of your success and that everyone liked it! Congratulations! Have a wonderful weekend!
Forest says
I tried this! I’m a noob in baking and glad I succeeded! Everyone says it’s good!
Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Celia Lim says
Hi Bel, exciting stuff! Just to be clear, are you thinking of baking one 11-inch sponge to slice into two layers, or two 11-inch sponge cakes to make a two-tier cake? If it’s just to make one 11-inch sponge, I’d recommend doubling the recipe only because it’s easier to work out the weights and measures, and in my humble opinion, better to have more cake to work with than less (plus,I usually have eager mouths to eat the extras in my home…heee).
Bel says
Hi Celia, im thinking to use this sponge cake recipe for a 11″ base as part of a 2 tiered birthday cake. Could you advise on the recipe needed and how do i increase it?
Celia Lim says
Hello Denise, thank you so much for the glowing feedback on this strawberry shortcake recipe! It really makes my day whenever I hear from readers like you who try these recipes, and then take the effort to let me know how it turns out. I’m so thrilled you found me on my blog too!
Ooooh… really rich chocolate cakes are my fave, believe it or not, and I’ve tried a couple of recipes that I really enjoyed but just haven’t gotten around to posting. I will surely try to get one or two of my favourite recipes up on the blog soon. Stay tuned, okay (better still, subscribe for free to get recipe updates whenever I post). Am definitely in with green tea cake suggestions too! I hope you’ll keep your comments coming whenever you try any other recipes here. I’d love to hear from you! Have a wonderful weekend ahead!
Denise says
Hi Celia,
Chanced upon your website and I’m super happy that I did!! This is truly THE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE RECIPE!! The sweetness is just right and the cake is so so soft! Best of all, it doesn’t have any egg smell (most sponge cakes do no matter how much vanilla essence I add)!
Thank you so so much for sharing this recipe, I’ve tried so many before but none of them come close to being as good as this! I’ve made this at least 3 times and all my friends and family loved it!
Would be real great if you have any really decadent chocolate cake (with crunchy base) or green tea cake recipe to share! <3<3<3
Celia Lim says
Hi Adeline, thank you for writing in! Apologies for the weights being in ounces. Here are the conversions to grams for the ingredient weights originally listed in ounces, as follows:-
water – 56 gm; vegetable oil – 70 gm; sponge cake mix – 113 gm; Hong Kong flour – 56 gm; caster sugar – 64 gm.
I’ve updated the recipe to list weight measurements in grams as well, but just in case you’re reading a cached copy of this post, I’m listing them in this reply.
I’m so excited you’re baking this for your son, hope this turns out awesome! I’d love to know and please don’t hesitate to ask me anything about this recipe. Happy baking!
Celia Lim says
Hi Shirleen, I usually finish this cake a day before and let it chill in a closed cake box or cake container in the fridge overnight so that the cream filling and frosting firm up nicely. How long the cream stays firm really depends on the environment, I’ve delivered this cake by car for 25 mins journey (air conditioned, of course?) and it held up well. I always make sure that when the cake reaches it’s destination, it goes into a chiller there until when needed. I’ve had friends take home slices in air tight containers by MRT for 45 mins journey and it was just getting soft, but not drippy. The key is have the cake chilled really well, for instance, my fridge temperature is usually 3 deg C. Hope this helps!?
shirleen says
i was thinking the transporting the cake from 1 plae to another. will the cream start to melt fast n easily?
Celia Lim says
Hi Bel, I’m so thrilled! You did it!???? thanks so much for giving it another try and for sharing!?? Glad to hear your family loves it!
Bel says
Hi Celia, i tried baking this cake and it turned out to be a success this time. My family loves it too ? the sponge cake was really good.
Celia Lim says
Hi Bel, I’m so sorry to hear that, that’s not ever happened to me yet, so I’m trying to think what could have gone wrong?. I’m thankful that you want to give it another go (kudos to your perseverance!) because this is really a tested and reliable recipe and one of the best I’ve gotten hold of. The cake should be moist but not very damp. I’m assuming that if you’ve used exactly the same ingredients as stated in the recipe, then maybe you could try one of two (or both) things: reduce the amount of water by 1/4 ounce, or bake for 5 to 10 mins longer. The cake is done when the surface springs back when lightly pressed. Please do share how this works out. I really really want this to work out for you! I find slicing with a knife, preferably a serrated one, always gives you neater and clean slices, though it shouldn’t fall apart so easily. Cheers, Celia
Bel says
Hi, i tried your recipe and the cake turned out to be quite damp. When i tried using a cake slicer to slice the cake, the cake split apart so i couldnt use it. Is it supposed to be very damp and should i use a knife to slice instead? Will want to try it again.
Celia Lim says
Hi Isabel, I used an 8-inch round cake pan. The Redman brand of whip topping cream is already sweetened, but as sweetness is a matter of personal taste, you can taste this cream before whipping it up, and decide if you’d like the cream a little sweeter before adding any sugar.☺
Bel says
What inch of cake pan did you use? If we use Redma. top whipping cream, dont need to add sugar?
Celia Lim says
Thank you so much, glad to hear he enjoyed it!???
Stephanie says
My fussy husband has nothing but praises for your yummy cake …. which he seldom does. Hotel standard he says. Thanks again ?
Celia Lim says
Thank you so much, Philyn, for your awesome comments! Glad you enjoyed it!????
Philyn says
This is the best cake ever! Simply delicious! The cream is wonderfully light and sweetness is just right. The sponge texture is perfect too! Yummy!
Celia Lim says
Thanks so much, Joan! Hope you do!??
Joan Teo says
Your description makes me drool -will try it when I m back! Thanks for sharing.