Super Tall Strawberry Shortcake

For the cakes:

Use pan coating to grease the bottom and corners of three 6″ round cake pans and set aside. Preheat oven to 325°F.

Sift cake flour, sugar (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons), baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer (or another large bowl), beat the egg yolks, water, oil, lemon extract, and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly combined. Pour yolk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Set aside.

Clean out the mixer bowl and wipe it dry with a towel. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form, then add 2 tablespoons sugar. Continue to beat on high until peaks are stiff.

Using a rubber spatula, fold about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter until no more egg whites are visible. Then, add remaining egg whites and fold just until egg whites are combined and are no longer visibly separate.

Scrape batter into cake pans and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is springy and a toothpick poked in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let cakes cool in their pans on a cooling rack for 15 minutes or so. Then, run a knife around the edges and flip the pans over to release the cakes. Place in the fridge to cool.

For the strawberries:

Put the prepped berries into a bowl. Sprinkle sugar over strawberries and stir gently to dissolve sugar. Allow berries to rest for 10-15 minutes so that juices begin to release.

For the whipped cream:

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer, which has preferably been in the fridge for a few minutes to make it nice and cold. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Assembly:

Once cake layers have cooled, carefully slice each layer in half horizontally using a good bread knife or layer slicer. Cake will be very spongy, so slice slowly. Place one layer flat-side down on a serving plate or cake stand. Place some of the berries flat side down over the cake, with the tips of the berries barely sticking out over the edge. Spread a layer of whipped cream over the berries, just enough to fill in the gaps between berries but without spreading down the sides. Whipped cream layer should cover the berries just enough so that the tops carry a thin layer. Add the next layer of cake, strawberries, and cream and continue with this process using the rest of the cake layers, berries and cream. Once the top layer of cake is applied, spread the top with a generous coat of whipped cream. Top with a heap of berries and refrigerate until serving.

Serve either by slicing vertically (which is precarious), or by lifting each half of layer of cake onto a plate.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.