Strawberry Shortcake

Makes one 6 inch square cake.

Sponge cake

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line a 6 inch square cake pan (with removable bottom) with parchment paper. Grease the parchment lined cake pan with butter, then lightly coat with flour.
2. Add the sugar to the egg whites, and beat the egg whites until they are stiff and glossy.
3. Add the egg yolks to the egg white mixture, and gently whisk until the yolks are incorporated.
4. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and flour (in that order) to the batter and gently fold them into the batter with a spatula. Fold in the melted butter until it is well combined.
5. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan, tap pan on a counter once or twice to remove air bubbles. Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. Run a blade around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake, and remove.

Stabilised whipped cream 6. Chill mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes. 7. Put the cold water in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and let stand for 5 minutes. Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon just until the gelatin dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool to room temperature. 8. Remove mixing bowl and beaters from freezer. In the mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla and whip until slightly thickened. Then, while beating slowly, gradually pour the gelatin into the whipped cream mixture. Then whip the mixture at high speed until slightly stiff.

Limoncello simple syrup 9. In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and water. Bring the water to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, add limoncello, stir quickly to combine and allow to cool.

Assembling 10. Reserve a handful of strawberries (the prettiest ones!) for decorating the top of the cake. Dice the remaining strawberries into small cubes. Macerate them in a little sugar and set aside. 11. Slice the sponge cake horizontally into three layers. 12. Place one sponge layer cut-side up on a cake board and lightly brush the surface with the limoncello simple syrup. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream over the cake layer and arrange the strawberry cubes over the surface. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream over the strawberries. Brush the cut-side of the second layer with the simple syrup and place it over the first layer. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining whipped cream. Repeat with remaining third layer of cake. Spread a thin layer of cream over top of the cake and return to fridge to chill for thirty minutes. 13. Using the leftover cream, pipe the cream as decoration. Chill in fridge for cream to set for an hour or so. Garnish with the reserved strawberries (sliced in halves).