Strawberry Lemon Cream Cake

Strawberry Lemon Cream Cake

cake:
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp lemon zest

strawberry filling:
2 lbs. strawberries, sliced uniformly
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

lemon custard filling:
2 cups whole milk or half and half (divided)
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 tbsp cornstarch
2 egg yolk
1 tbsp lemon zest

whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp sugar
Optional (particularly if making more than 4 hours ahead of time) : 1 tsp gelatin dissolved in 1 tbsp cold water

For Cake:

Preheat oven to 350.
Line 2 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper and grease and flour them throughly.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
Beat egg yolks for one minute. Add sugar and beat about 3 minutes until ribbons form when beater is lifted. Carefully and gradually beat in flour mixture, vanilla, and lemon zest.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture.
Pour into pans and smooth tops.
Bake about 20-25 minutes.
Let cakes cool completely (preferably overnight) before filling.

Meanwhile, make strawberry filling and custard. Combine strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Let sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until juices have seeped out of strawberries.

For custard:

Whisk 1/2 cup milk, cornstarch, and egg yolks in medium bowl to blend. Combine lemon zest, 1 1/2 cups milk, and sugar in large saucepan. Bring lemon-milk mixture to simmer. Gradually whisk yolk mixture into lemon-milk mixture. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly (custard will be very thick), careful not to overheat (which will lead to curdling). Strain into medium bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of custard and refrigerate. Stir throughly before using to fill cake.

Assembly:

Cut cakes in half horizontally. Place one cake layer on a cake plate with the cut side up. Spread with very thin layer of custard. Top with half the strawberries. Top with a second cake layer, cut side down. Spread most of the remaining custard over this layer (reserving about a 1/4 cup for the third layer). Top custard with third cake layer, cut side up. Spread remaining custard over, and cover with the remaining strawberries. Top with last cake layer. Chill until ready to finish with whipped cream (the closer to serving, the better).

Finish:

If stabilizing the whipped cream, heat gelatin and water mixture until clear. Gradually beat into cream mixture as it is being whipped. Beat in vanilla and sugar. (If not stabilizing, omit the gelatin and water).
Spread cream over cake smoothly. Garnish with strawberry halves and lemon wedges.