Method

Cake

Preheat the oven to 180 °C

Grease and line 2 x 20 cm cake tins.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg yolks, one at a time. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla essence.

In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Alternating the dry ingredients with the milk, add to the wet ingredients and mix to combine.

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until fluffy. Add a small amount of the egg whites to the batter to loosen slightly, and then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tins and bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until the centre of the cake springs back when gently pressed. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before turning out.

Cream Cheese Icing

In the bowl of an electric mixer, use the paddle attachment to beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.

Add the icing sugar and beat.

Add the vanilla essence and beat until just combined. Fold in the zest. Allow to rest for 20 minutes in the refrigerator before using.

To Assemble

Sandwich the two cakes together with cream cheese icing and decorate with fresh strawberries.