Ingredients:
For the Sponge Cake:
4 eggs
225g caster sugar, plus a little extra for dusting the finished cake
225g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
225g butter at room temperature, plus a little extra to grease the tins
4 tbsp daisy (common or oxeye) petals
For the Filling
250ml (1 cup) strawberry jam
For the Icing
115g (1/2 cup) butter at room temperature
525g (4 cups) icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp almond extract
5 tbsp double cream (or more, if needed)
For the Topping
15 small to medium strawberries, hulled and halved lengthways
small edible flowers (I used daisies), optional
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180C (160C Fan/Gas Mark 4). Grease and line two 20cm diameter sandwich tins.
Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then add the sugar, flour, baking powder, butter and petals. Mix together until well combined with an electric hand mixer (you can also use a wooden spoon), but be careful not to over mix. Put a damp cloth under your bowl when you’re mixing to stop it moving around. The finished mixture should fall off a spoon easily.
Divide the mixture evenly between the tins: this doesn’t need to be exact, but you can weigh the filled tins if you want to check. Use a spatula to scrape all of the cake batter from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes.
Transfer the cakes to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Check them after 20 minutes. The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently with your fingertips to check — they should be springy to the touch.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool in their tins for 5 minutes. Run a palette or rounded butter knife around the inside edge of the tins and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Set aside until completely cooled.
In the meantime, cream together the butter and icing sugar in a bowl. Work in the almond extract then add just enough double cream to give the mixture a spreadable consistency.
To assemble, place one layer of the cooled cake, upside down, on a platter. Spread the top evenly with the jam then sit the second layer on top of the jam. Use the buttercream to generously ice the top of the cake then skim coat the sides of the cake.
For decoration, arrange the sliced strawberries around the rim of the cake in a wreath-like patter. Then use the daisies to decorate between the strawberries. Decorate the cake just before serving so they remain fresh.