Strawberry Cake Italian Style

Ingredients

• 100 g butter
• 3 eggs
• 100 g sugar
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp Cornstarch
• 150 g flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 125 g fine strawberry jam
• 2 tbsp apple juice
• 300 g ripe strawberries
• 200 g mascarpone
• 200 ml whipped cream (at least 30% fat)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 100 g sugar
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar (for dusting)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F) with upper and lower heat. Melt the butter and let it cool. Whisk the eggs with sugar, vanilla sugar, and lemon zest until frothy. Gradually add the melted butter and beat until the mixture is light and foamy. Sift together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder; fold into the batter.

2. 2.

   Line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper, pour in the batter, smooth the surface, and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown (do the toothpick test!). Remove from oven, let cool, lift off the ring, and cut the cake horizontally once.

3. 3.

   Heat the strawberry jam with apple juice and strain through a sieve; let it cool. Wash, trim, and halve the strawberries. Mix mascarpone with half of the strawberry sauce, lemon juice, and sugar. Fold in the whipped cream. Spread some mascarpone cream on the lower cake layer, top with strawberries, place the second layer, and press gently together.

4. 4.

   Spread the remaining mascarpone cream over the entire cake, drizzle with the rest of the strawberry sauce, and garnish with fresh strawberries. Chill for at least one hour. Slice the well-chilled cake and dust with powdered sugar before serving.