A Spectacular Birthday Cake

     Last weekend was my mother's birthday. So, naturally, I wanted to create an amazing cake for her. She's on a diet, so I didn't want to make anything too rich. Lots of fruit would be a plus, too. For both of these to be true, I collected a few recipes to combine into one glorious cake. I made a Hot Milk Sponge Cake, from The Joy of Cooking, and pastry cream with a half-cup of added lemon, from the same cookbook. Sliced strawberries and whipped cream were the other two foods I needed. I cut the cake in half, to make two layers, and spread the pastry cream on the top of each. The strawberries were artfully arranged on top of the custard, the two layers were stacked, and the whipped cream was spread around the edges. Voila - Strawberry Lemon Birthday Cake.

     I found that the cake was better after being chilled. The second time round, when it was a little colder from sitting in the fridge overnight, I put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It melded nicely with the lemony custard. Both times, my family was thrilled with the result. This was most definitely a success - I highly recommend making it. Enjoy!