Entered by Melanie Edjourian on 25/11/2013
Method
1. Line 2 9 inch tins with greaseproof paper
2. Put the milk and butter in a pan and slowly melt the butter then pop to the side to cool a little
3. Combine the eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk until it holds a figure of eight. Stir in the vanilla essence or vanilla seeds. Slowly pour the milk and butter mixture into the egg and sugar mix, stir well.
4. Combine the flour and baking powder and sift into the mix. Gently fold in.
5. Separate the mix between the two tins and cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Make sure you check it after the first 10 minutes to see if it has turned a rich golden colour on the top. If it has cover each with foil and allow to cook throughout. Cool on a wire rack.
6. Make sure you prepare the strawberries when the sponge is cooking, was them, remove stalks, cut into halves or slices depending on their sizes and then lay to dry.
7. Combine the cream, vanilla essence or pods and vanilla ice cream, mix until it thickens.
8. Put a layer on half of the cooled sponge, cover with a layer of strawberries. Cover one side of the second sponge with cream and place on top of the strawberries. Cover the sides and top of the cake with cream. Arrange the strawberries on top and chill for an hour at least before serving.