There’s no better way to celebrate the summer bounty of strawberries than with a beautiful layer cake. I like to throw some black pepper into the classic strawberry and cream mix. It might be a bit unconventional, but it certainly works – trust me!

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Prep time: 40 minutes

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Cooking time: 45 minutes

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For the sponge:

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  • 75g unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 eggs
  • 125g sugar
  • 150g plain yoghurt
  • 300g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
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For the whipped cream icing:

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  • 750ml whipping cream
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 100g sugar
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For the spiced strawberries:

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  • 900g strawberries (800g halved and leaves removed, plus 100g for garnish)
  • 150ml water
  • 150g sugar
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • pinch of salt
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  1. First make the spiced strawberries. Hull and halve the strawberries.
  2. Place the water, sugar, black pepper and a pinch of salt into a pot and bring to a boil.
  3. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Take off the heat, then add the halved strawberries and chill in the fridge until needed.
  4. For the sponge, preheat oven to 160°C and melt the butter.
  5. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until thick, pale and fluffy.
  6. Pour in the melted butter and the yoghurt.
  7. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients before mixing into the rest of the ingredients. Don’t overmix or you’ll end up with a heavy cake.
  8. Pour the batter into a 19-cm cake tin.
  9. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. If the cake is browning too fast, cover it with aluminium foil. Remove from tin and place on a cake rack.
  10. Leave to cool for 30 minutes before slicing horizontally into 3 pieces. If you have a plate with a lip on it, place the whole cake upside down on the plate and use the edge of the plate to guide a bread knife across in a straight line, removing the peaked top (you can discard this). Repeat this process to end up with 3 layers of cake.
  11. To make the whipped cream icing, run a knife along the vanilla pod, slice through the middle and scoop out the seeds using the back of the knife. Add to the cream.
  12. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla, until firm enough to ice the cake.
  13. Assemble the cake starting with the top part on the bottom (this way, the bottom will be on top, leaving a smooth finish).
  14. Using a pastry brush, generously dab the cake crumb with some of the strawberry syrup.
  15. Spread a quarter of the cream on top of the crumb. Add a third of the macerated strawberries.
  16. Repeat twice more.
  17. Top the cake with the fresh strawberries.
  18. Spread the rest of the cream around the sides.
  19. Serve within 2 days.
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Tips:

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  • The strawberries in syrup can be made in advance.
  • The sponge can be made 1 day ahead and wrapped well in cling film once cool.
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Check out Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: London, which can be seen on Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC Lifestyle (HK Cable TV channel 131 and now TV channel 221).

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