Step 1

Place the strawberries, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large fry pan and place over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2

Once the strawberries are soft, using a potato masher, mash the strawberries well. Allow the mixture to reduce for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 3

Combine the cornstarch with the water and mix until the cornstarch is no longer lumpy. Add it into the strawberry mixture while continuously mixing to avoid lumps forming.

Step 4

Reduce for another few minutes and then take it off the heat. You should have about 2 cups. It's okay if it's not exact, but if you have a lot more than 2 cups, then you will need to reduce the mixture further.

Step 5

The filling needs to cool before you move onto the cake. To speed up the process, spread the filling out onto a wide dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes. You can also make this the day beforehand to save time.

Step 6

Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 4 if you don't have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).

Step 7

In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.

Step 8

In a small bowl combine 3/4s of a cup (195g) of the strawberry filling, milk and gel food colour. Mix until well combined. Set aside for now.

Step 9

In another bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - see note 2), cream together for 3 minutes until light and creamy.

Step 10

Add in egg whites in 3 batches on a low-medium speed, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between each batch).

Step 11

Add in half of your strawberry/milk mixture from earlier, strawberry essence/extract, vanilla and white vinegar. Mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.

Step 12

Finish off by adding in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining strawberry/milk mixture, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3). If your batter seems a little dull in colour, then you can add another drop of red gel food colouring.

Step 13

Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Step 14

Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for about 15-20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting with the strawberry cream cheese buttercream recipe below.

Step 15

Cream your butter for a few minutes until it's light and fluffy. Either use a hand mixer or stand mixer on a medium high speed. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.

Step 16

Add in the icing sugar in 3 batches while mixing on low. Ensure that each batch of icing sugar is mixed into the butter well before adding in the next batch.

Step 17

Next add in your cold cream cheese, strawberry essence/extract and vanilla. Mix just until the frosting is smooth. Avoid over-mixing (see note 3).

Step 18

Add in a 1/4 cup (65g) of the strawberry filling we made earlier, and mix that in until just combined. You can add additional colouring in at this point too if you prefer.

Step 19

OPTIONAL: Begin by trimming off all the caramelised edges on the top, bottom and sides of the cake layers. Also level the tops if the cake layers have a slight dome.

Step 20

Place your first cake layer onto your cake stand, and spread out a generous amount of the frosting on top.

Step 21

Place some of the frosting into a piping bag with a 1A round tip, and pipe a border/dam around the edges of the cake layer to hold in our strawberry filling. Fill the middle with the remaining strawberry filling we made earlier.

Step 22

Place the next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more frosting. If you have a cake scraper, you can use it to smooth out the sides. I like to do a little bit of piping on the top with the remaining buttercream in my piping bag (using the same 1A piping tip) and finish off with fresh strawberries on the top.