Swedish strawberry cream cake

If you asked a Swede what the most Swedish of cakes would be, I would bet you that 9 out of 10 times the answer would be strawberry cream cake. Well "jordgubbs tarta" to be more precise, but this is not a Swedish lesson. Simply an introduction to the lovely world of Scandinavian food.
This cake is summer personified and will be baked through out our outstretch country for Midsummer celebrations, exam parties, birthday parties and the list goes on..
And even though the answer might be fairly unanimous, the fillings and recipes would vary endlessly.
This is how I make it:

Strawberry cream cake

Light sponge

• 3 eggs
• 2 dl sugar
• 1dl hot water
• 2dl plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 2tsp if vanilla sugar )

Heat the oven to 175C.
Grease a round baking tin (app 2 litres).
Whisk the sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Slowly add the hot water and the vanilla at the end of the whisking.
Carefully add the flour and the baking powder to the mixture.
Pour into your baking tin and bake for app. 40 min. Check to make sure the cake is cooked through.
When the cake has cooled you can slice it on the height twice to leave you with 3 "cake discs".
And now for the filling.

Filling

• 1dl whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons of good lemon curd
• 3 tablespoons of raspberry jam

Spread the raspberry jam on the first disc and place the second cake disc on top.
Whisk the cream and mix with the lemon curd, spread this tangy cream on top and put the last disc on top of that.
And now the fun part. Decorating!!

Decoration

• 5dl whipping cream
• 1 punnet of strawberries

Whisk the cream and cover the cake completely with it. If you want to make it extra pretty, use a pipping bag.
Decorate with strawberries. I usually cut mine in to quarters, because I think it looks neater, and it also makes it easier to eat.

Other suggestions for fillings

• mix a little bit of custard with whipped cream
• mashed banana with cocoa powder
• strawberry jam

Enjoy!