Strawberry Meringue Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

9 tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing
2 1/8 cups + 3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 medium eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
4 tbsp milk
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 lb strawberries, stems removed and halved (larger ones quartered)
1 None lemon (zest and juice)
1 tbsp powdered gelatin, dissolved according to package instructions
1 lb cream cheese
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
None None powdered sugar, for dusting

Preparation

Grease a 10 inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325\u00b0F. Beat the butter, 2/3 cup of the sugar and the vanilla extract until creamy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well as you go. Fold in the flour, then stir in milk.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, gradually beating in 1 cup of the sugar. To make the top laker of the cake, spoon half of the cake mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Spread the egg white mixture on top leaving a 1 inch border. Sprinkle half of the almonds on top. Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 25 mins. Cool in the pan for 10 mins, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack. Wash the pan and grease and line again. Repeat with the rest of the cake mixture and almonds to make the bottom layer of the cake.
While the cakes are baking, puree half the strawberries with 3 tbsp of the sugar and 2 tbsp of the lemon juice. Stir in half of the gelatin, chill until the mixture begins to set, then stir in the remaining strawberries. Using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, lemon zest, remaining lemon juice and remaining sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the rest of the dissolved gelatin. Chill until the mixture begins to set. Meanwhile, beat the cream until stiff peaks form.
Place the springform pan around the bottom cake. Alternating spoonfuls, spoon on the cream cheese and strawberry mixtures. Place the meringue-topped cake on top and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight until set. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.