Sponge cake with strawberries and cream

Ingredients:

Biscuit (sponge cake)

• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tbsp (30 g) butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream and berries

• 1.5 cups whipping cream
• 125 g cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 0.5 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
• 4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup strawberry jam
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Preparation:

1. Sponge cake

   
   Preheat oven to 160°C. Line the bottom of a 22cm springform pan with baking paper, but do not grease it.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar on high speed until they are almost white, have more than tripled in volume (this is crucial, as you won't be using baking powder), and are falling off the beaters in ribbons, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the zest and juice.
3. Sift the flour and salt into the batter, beating on medium speed. Place about 1 cup of batter in the bowl and stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Pour the batter back into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool completely in the pan.

4. Cream and berries

   
   Cream: Whip the cream until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft, then add the sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla or vanilla bean paste. Fold in the whipped cream in two additions. Refrigerate the cream until ready to assemble the cake.
5. Before assembling the cake, mix the berries with the jam. Run a knife between the sides of the pan and the cake to loosen it, then remove the pan and parchment paper. Cut the cake in half horizontally. Spread half of the cream on the bottom half of the cake, then top with half of the berries. Place the top half of the cake on top of the berries and cover with the remaining cream and berries, leaving a 3-5 cm border. Dust the edges of the cake with powdered sugar and refrigerate until serving.
   
   The cake can be assembled 4 hours before serving.