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–+ servings
lychee cake on a cake stand.
Ainseanlea Bonds

Lychee Cake with Strawberries

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Based on traditional Jamaican lychee cake, this lychee chiffon cake is soaked in rosé syrup, filled with strawberry-lychee filling, and layered with Chantilly frosting.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Cooling Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Course: Dessert, Snack, Tea
Cuisine: American, asian, Jamaican
Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
 

Lychee Cake Layers
Pink Moscato Simple Syrup
Strawberry-Lychee Filling
Chantilly Frosting

Equipment

Method
 

Make the Lychee Chiffon Cake Layers
  1. Preheat oven to 325℉.
  2. Add the egg whites to the bowl of the stand mixer and whip on high speed until frothy.
    3 large eggs
  3. Once frothy, continue whipping on high speed while gradually pouring in the sugar. Once all the sugar has been added, add the lemon zest and continue whipping until the egg whites are glossy and form firm peaks.
    290 grams granulated sugar, ½ large lemon
  4. Still on high speed, add the egg yolks, oil, and lychee extract. Whip until completely combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl if needed.
    3 large eggs, 115 milliliters neutral flavored oil, 1 teaspoon lychee extract
  5. Stop the mixer and sift in all the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed until just combined.
    330 grams cake flour, 1½ TABLEspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
  6. Add the warm heavy cream and mix again on medium speed until evenly incorporated.
    445 milliliters heavy cream
  7. Prepare 3 eight-inch cake pans with baking spray and a parchment paper round on the bottom. Divide the lychee cake batter equally among the 3 pans and bake on the center rack of the oven for 18-22 minutes or until the cake spring back easily when lightly pressed.
Make the Moscato Simple Syrup and Apply it to the Cake
  1. Add the pink Moscato to a small bowl along with the sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
    80 milliliters pink Moscato or rosé, 2 TABLEspoons granulated sugar
  2. While the cake is still warm, use a toothpick or skewer to poke holes into each cake layer, then spoon the Moscato syrup over the cakes. This will be about 3-4 tablespoons of syrup per cake layer.
    3. I like to wrap my cake layers in plastic wrap while they're warm to lock in moisture that would otherwise escape as steam.
Make the Strawberry-Lychee Filling
  1. Add the diced strawberries and sugar to a medium saucepan. Cover, and allow it to reduce over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until it starts to froth, then uncover and allow to reduce for an additional 8-10 minutes until it resembles a chunky syrup.
    280 grams strawberries, 2½ TABLEspoons granulated sugar
  2. Add the powdered gelatin and stir until evenly incorporated
    ½ teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
  3. Remove from the heat and add the diced lychee. Transfer to a heat-resistant, lidded container and refrigerate until ready to assemble the cake.
    180 grams lychee fruit
Make the Chantilly Frosting
  1. Add the cold heavy cream to a large mixing bowl along with the confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract. Whip on high speed until it forms soft peaks.
    495 grams heavy whipping cream, 115 grams confectioner's (powdered) sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
    2. At soft peaks, the whipped cream peak should flop over easily when the whisk is inverted (similar to a Santa's hat).
  2. Once the heavy cream has reached soft peaks, add all the mascarpone cheese and whip again until stiff peaks form. This should only take 10-20 seconds.
    340 grams mascarpone cheese
Assemble the Cake
  1. Place the first cake layer on a plate or desired cake stand.
  2. Using an offset spatula, spread a layer of the Chantilly frosting on top of the cake layer and create a well in the middle. Spoon the strawberry-lychee filling into the created well.
    Repeat with the second layer, then top with the final cake layer.
    3. Alternatively, for a well, you could use a piping bag and pipe a border around the edge of the cake on top of a smooth layer of frosting.
  3. Decorate the cake as desired. I opted for a naked cake, topping with a final layer of frosting and piping rosettes on top.
  4. Decorate with strawberries & lychee.

Nutrition

Calories: 575kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 305mg | Potassium: 141mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 1217IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 1mg

Notes

  • Do not substitute the cake flour for all-purpose flour. The cake will not be as light and tender.
  • Don't open the oven before 18 minutes. This sponge cake is extremely light, so opening the oven prematurely could interrupt the rise and cause the cakes to sink.
  • A note on scaling this recipe: I recommend measuring in grams for this recipe, but have provided the closest imperial (cups) estimation. In some cases, however, this measurement includes a second unit (for example, 1 cup + 2 tablespoons). Please note that if you use the built-in scaling calculator in the recipe card, measurements with 2 units won't scale correctly, so those measurements should be calculated by you separately.

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