Strawberries & Cream Cake

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then set aside. In another bowl, combine the vanilla with the buttermilk.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the sugar and orange zest. Use a spoon to press and stir the zest into the sugar until the mixture takes on an orange tint, becomes fragrant, and resembles the texture of wet sand.
• Add the butter to the sugar mixture and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
• While mixing on medium speed, add the eggs one by one, mixing between each addition.
• Reduce the speed to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture, being careful not to overmix.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center with only a few crumbs. Allow the cakes to cool fully before assembling.
• Prepare the strawberries by selecting the 5 largest ones that are around the same size. Set these aside. Quarter the remaining strawberries and add them to a bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Allow them to macerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Whip the cream, a tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp of salt using an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Note, you can also sweeten the whipped cream if you like! Just add a spoonful of granulated sugar!
• To assemble the cake, slice each cake layer in half horizontally. Place one layer on the cake stand. The bowl of strawberries should now have juices accumulated at the bottom. Spoon this liquid over the cake layer. Then, take the 5 strawberries you set aside, placing one in the center and the other 4 evenly spaced around the edge of the cake; these act like stilts to support the second layer. Spoon half of the macerated strawberries over the bottom layer, then top with half of the whipped cream. Place the second layer on top, followed by the remaining whipped cream and strawberries.