Strawberry Cake with Tender Sponge

Separate the eggs into whites and yolks. Place the whites in the refrigerator, leave the yolks at room temperature.

Place the egg yolks in a mixer bowl, add 20 g of sugar and whisk quickly until the sugar dissolves.

Add milk, strawberry syrup, and vanilla extract, whip until smooth. Then add vegetable oil and whip again.

Sift the flour with cornstarch three times. Gradually add the mixture to the mixer bowl, continuously whisking until you get a smooth dough without lumps.

In a separate bowl, whisk the chilled egg whites with salt, lemon juice, and sifted powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. The peaks should be glossy and not collapse on the whisk.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture using a spatula. The batter should turn out airy and tender, without large bubbles.

Place the dough in a rectangular form (22×23 cm) lined with parchment paper. Spread the dough evenly and tap the form on the table to remove any large air bubbles.

Bake the sponge cake for 25–30 minutes in a preheated oven at 165–170 °C on the middle rack. The sponge cake should become golden brown and springy. Remove it from the pan, turn it over onto a wire rack, remove the paper, and let it cool completely.

While the sponge cake cools, whip the cream with the remaining sugar (25 g) until you get a thick cream. As soon as the cream starts to increase in volume and the sugar dissolves, reduce the mixer speed to avoid overbeating the cream.

Slice 150 g of strawberries into thin slices. Place the cream and strawberries in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

When the sponge cake has completely cooled, trim the crust around the perimeter and cut it horizontally in half to make two layers.

Place one cake layer on a board, placing parchment paper underneath it. Cover the layer with 1/4 of the cream and smooth it out.

Arrange strawberry pieces in a single layer on the cream.

Apply another 1/4 of the cream and spread it evenly. Place the second cake layer on top. Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of the remaining cream. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the cake and spread cream on the top and sides again. The top layer should be approximately equal in thickness to the cream layer between the cake layers. Put the cake in the refrigerator for another 2 hours.

Cut the cake into small pieces and decorate each piece with a strawberry slice. Serve cold.