Ravneet Gill’s strawberry and lemon verbena fraisier cake

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the bases of 2 x 20cm round sandwich cake tins with oil and baking paper.
2. Start by making the genoise sponge. In a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy. This will take 7-10 minutes.
3. Stir the flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl, then sift into the egg mixture in batches, gently folding in with a spatula. Add the oil and continue mixing gently until the batter is smooth and well combined.
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4. Divide the batter equally between the prepared cake tins, then smooth the tops. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the sponges are golden brown and spring back when lightly touched. Let them cool in the tins for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. While the sponges cool, prepare the syrup. In a pan, combine the sugar, lemon verbena and lemon juice with 150ml water. Warm over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes before straining.
6. Whip the cream with a pinch of salt and the icing sugar until soft peaks form (the peaks will flop over when the beaters are lifted out). Set aside.
7. To assemble the fraisier cake, slice off the curved top from each cake with a large serrated knife if needed (although they should be pretty level). Put one sponge on a serving plate or cake stand, then brush it with the prepared syrup, ensuring it is evenly moistened but not overly soaked (keep some syrup reserved).
8. Spread an even layer of whipped cream on top of the moistened sponge layer. Arrange the sliced strawberries on the cream around the edges, then scatter the chopped strawberries in the middle.
9. Add another layer of whipped cream on top of the strawberries, smoothing it out with a spatula. Sit the second layer of genoise sponge on top (with the cut side facing down if you trimmed it). Lightly press it down to stick to the cream and strawberries.
10. Brush the top of the sponge layer with the remaining syrup, moistening it slightly. Refrigerate the fraisier cake for at least 2 hours or until the cream is set and the flavours have melded together.