-
Firstly get yourself prepared and preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Then grease and line 2 x 18cm/7in cake tins with baking paper.
-
To make the sponge mixture cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl until it looks pale and fluffy. Be careful not to over beat the mixture. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the mixture a little at a time, beating gently. Stir in the vanilla extract.
-
Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon. The mixture should resemble a batter with a soft dropping consistency.
-
Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently spread out with the back of a spatula.
-
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
-
Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Place onto a wire rack.
-
Filling: sandwich the layers together firstly with a layer of jam then a generous layer of whipped cream and finish with halved strawberries. Try to position your strawberries towards the edge of you cake: this will make it a real show stopper for a summer afternoon tea.
-
Topping: Pipe 12 cream rosettes evenly around the top of your cake, placing half a strawberry on each. Dust with a little icing sugar.
And finally, cut yourself a slice and enjoy with a nice cup of tea or even a glass of something sparkling!