Strawberry & Chocolate Victoria Sponge

Recipe For the Sponge:

• 220 grs butter, softened, plus extra for greasing.
• 220 grs caster sugar.
• 4 medium eggs, lightly beaten.
• 220 grs self-raising flour.
• Dash of vanilla essence
  

Recipe For the Filling & Topping:

• 15 large Fresh strawberries.
• One soup spoon of sugar.
  
• 250 mls single fresh cream.
• 1 bar of chocolate 60% cocoa.

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 180°C, gas mark 4, Use a little butter to grease two 20cm-diameter sponge tins and also dust them with flour. The very important creaming method; that is, the fat and sugar are creamed or beaten together until very light and fluffy before other ingredients are added.
Beat the eggs lightly and add them to the mixture of fat and sugar bit by bit incorporating them each addition you make, continue this until all the egg is in, then the flour add a bit at the time as well and fold it in until it incorporates too with the mixture, keep repeating this until all is in, Finally add the vanilla essence (or lemon zest if you prefer).
Split the mixture between the two tins and bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes, prick them with a wooden tooth pick until the centre if tooth pick comes out clean then they are cooked.

Filling:

Beat the cream and add as it starts to harden the sugar (also add a couple of lemon juice drops). Wash and slice the strawberries, once that is done fold them gently into the thickened cream, that is it filling is done.

Topping:

Very simple for a hard set, just break chocolate into little squares into a glass bowl and melt them in bain marie, then you cover the cake with it which then goes hard when it is dry.
For a soft version I add a tea spoon of butter and an egg yolk mixing it well still in the bain marie, if you spread this one will not go hard should go semi-soft.

Assembly:

The easy bit, put one sponge in a plate, cover it thickly with the strawberry cream let it go out of the cake diameter a bit, lay the other sponge on top with it's base facing top (as is a flatter surfice) run a spatula all the way around the cake to push the excess cream in and make it a smooth surface, then finally coat the top with chocolate, (you can add more decorations if you want like sprinkles etc. its up to you.

The cake on the picture I made it for my niece who was just 1 year old last week, so I wanted a simple presentation, but nice looking at the same time.