Wimbledon Cakes

Anyone who knows me knows I love tennis, and for me, Wimbledon is the peak of the year. As a child we always knew when Wimbledon was being played as it was on the television all day every day – we’d get back from school, jump on the sofa and try to understand what was going on. As we got older and had our own favourite players we’d enjoy having picnic teas in the living room so that we could watch the matches, and celebrating in the evening eating more strawberries than you would believe possible – and sometimes doughnuts too! Just the sound of a tennis ball on grass (yes, it does actually sound different than on other surfaces) is enough to bring back a wonderful flood of memories for me.

Anyway, if you are reading this you aren’t here to read about my love of Wimbledon, you are here to get the recipe for these absolutely perfect strawberry cakes! Created to enjoy on the middle Sunday these really hit the spot!

I took the basis of these cakes from the Tesco recipe site, and have adjusted the cooking temperature and time to work for my own version. Also, I would like to note that I have only made these using the type of oil and milk listed below so I don’t know how other types would work.

Ingredients

• 400g/14oz Self-Raising Flour
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 200g/7oz Caster Sugar
• 115ml Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
• 400ml Oat Milk
• 3 tbsp Golden Syrup
• 3 tsp Vanilla Extract

For the topping

• Elmers Vegan Double Cream
• Strawberries

The quantity here is entirely up to you, I prefer big dollops of cream on my cupcakes where as Summer would have less, so go by what you and your family enjoy!

This recipe makes 18 large cupcakes.

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 160C and line your muffin trays with 18 cases (or oil them if using silicone moulds).
2. Put your flour, bicarb and sugar into a big mixing bowl and whisk together.
3. Measure out your golden syrup and pour it on top of the dry ingredients.
4. Mix the oil, milk, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl or a jug.
5. Slowly pour the wet ingredients onto the dry while mixing to ensure no lumps form.
6. Once all the wet ingredients have been added keep mixing for two minutes, or until the batter thickens and becomes a bit bubbly. This stage is really important as the cakes won’t rise properly if you skimp on this step.
7. Add the mixture to your cases, you want them to be about three-quarters full.
8. Pop the tray into the oven for 25 minutes until the cakes are well risen and golden brown.

For the topping

1. Once your cakes are completely cooled you can start whisking your cream. You will need to whisk it for a good 2-3 minutes until it reaches the soft peak stage. It will feel like it won’t get there but keep going and it will, I promise!
2. Once it is thick enough to form soft peaks you can dollop it onto the top of your cakes. Then, pop the cakes into the fridge for 2-3 hours for the cream to set. I know that sounds odd but it ensures the cream is firm enough to hold your strawberries.
3. Take the cakes out and decorate them with strawberries. I used both halves and whole strawberries and both looked really pretty and tasted delicious.

Even if you aren’t a Wimbledon fanatic like me I do hope you’ll give these a try; they are the perfect summer cake, looking and tasting delicious. Please let us know how your cakes turned out by leaving a comment or tagging us over on Instagram @foxandlockes.

Happy eating,

Livvy and Summer