Strawberries & cream stripe cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4 and line two 35x25cm lipped baking trays (or Swiss roll tins) with baking parchment.

2. Place the eggs and sugar into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk on high speed for 6-8 minutes, until pale and tripled in volume. The mixture should leave a trail which lasts at least 3 seconds before disappearing.

3. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt over the whisked egg and gently fold together using a balloon whisk or spatula until just combined (you don’t want to knock out any air). Pour the melted butter around the edge of the bowl, add the vanilla and fold to combine.

4. Divide the mixture between the baking tins and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. If you only have one tin, bake half the mixture immediately, turn out of the tin when cooked and repeat with the second half of the mixture as quickly as possible to prevent it deflating.

5. While the cakes are baking, sprinkle icing sugar on two sheets of baking parchment. When cooked, turn out onto the sheets while still warm, remove the parchment from the bottom of the cakes and roll up like a Swiss roll. This will cause the cake to ‘remember’ the spiral shape which will make the finished cake easier to assemble.

6. To make the buttercream, beat together the butter and icing sugar with an electric whisk. Blitz the strawberries to a purée, then stir into the icing along with the soft cheese and beat until smooth. Chill until needed.

7. When you are ready to assemble, unroll the sponges and use a sharp knife to cut each in half lengthways, forming 2 long strips of cake from each sponge. Using a palette knife, spread each strip with jam, then top with cream, spreading each one in an even layer right to the edges.

8. Line the strips of cake into a long continuous line (if there’s no space to do this, add the strips one at a time and take care lining up the edges). Starting at one end, roll up the cake strips like a giant Swiss roll to form a large cylinder, then turn the cake onto its side so the spiral’s edge is up against the serving plate.

9. Use a palette knife to smooth the strawberry buttercream over the top and sides of the cake, then garnish with a few extra strawberries. Keep the cake chilled, where it will last for up to 3 days.