Strawberries & Cream Cake

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/gas 4. Grease the two cake tins and set aside.

Pour the eggs, butter, sugar, flour and baking powder into a big bowl & beat together until thoroughly combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and place in the oven for around 20-25 minutes.

Whilst the cakes are baking, start by slicing your strawberries (top downwards) - into about 4-5 slices per strawberry and then set aside. Leave 1 or 2 whole strawberries & about 6-8 good slices for the topping.

In a clean glass or metal bowl, pour the cream and and whisk on low speed for about 30 seconds before increasing to medium speed until the cream begins to form stiff peaks (this should take a couple of minutes). Stop as soon as the peaks are formed, otherwise you will over-whisk.

When the cakes are ready, transfer onto a cooling rack and using a knife/cake leveller, slice the rounded tops off to create a smooth surface. Allow to completely cool before assembling.

In a new bowl, add the milk, butter, half the icing sugar, strawberry essence and colouring and whisk on medium speed until combined. Gradually add the remaining icing sugar until it combines to create a light and fluffy pink buttercream.

Next, spread a generous layer of jam on the base of one cake. Add the sliced stawberries in a circular pattern and then top with just over half the whipped cream (save the rest) to create a thick inner layer. Place the second cake on top and carefully spread the icing on top

Finally, add the remaining cream to a piping bag with an izing nozzle or ziplock bag with the end snipped off & pipe 6-8 cream 'nests' around the edges. Add a sliced strawberry to the top of each. Add a final whole strawberry in the middle - there are lots of online video tutorials for creating strawberry rose shapes! Dust with icing sugar & serve on the day.