Nothing beats a spectacular dessert, and this strawberry layer cake is wonderfully decadent. Set aside time the day before to make and build the cake, so you can relax on the day. It’s the perfect finale to Christmas dinner and also good for a lunch or afternoon tea. It’s a great use of sweet seasonal strawberries and the tang of lemon in the middle adds a surprise touch.
Cake
| 3 | Eggs |
| 100 g | Caster sugar |
| 120 g | Ground almonds |
| 3 | Egg whites |
| ¼ tsp | Cream of tartar |
| 50 g | Gluten-free flour |
| 20 g | Melted butter |
Filling
| 200 ml | Cream |
| 250 g | Cream cheese |
| 1 whole | Lemon, zested |
| 2 Tbsp | Lemon juice |
| 50 g | Caster sugar |
| 2 punnets | Strawberries, hulled and sliced (Main) |
| 1 sprinkle | Icing sugar, to dust |
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Directions
- Heat oven to 170C. Grease and line a 23cm tin with baking paper.
- Beat the eggs and half the sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the ground almonds.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the cream of tartar and the remaining sugar in two batches. Fold egg white mixture into almond mixture along with the flour and melted butter. Place into the middle of the oven for 35 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool completely.
- For the filling, beat the cream, cream cheese, lemon zest and juice and sugar until smooth.
- Remove cake from tin and split horizontally into three even pieces. Place the base of the cake on a plate and spread on half the cream mixture. Top with sliced strawberries. Place on the middle piece of cake and repeat. Place on the top layer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Before serving, top with the remaining strawberries and dust liberally with icing sugar.
