Sponge cake
250 g (8.82 oz) eggs
130 g (4.59 oz) sugar
130 g (4.59 oz) wheat flour
30 g (1.06 oz) unsalted butter

Vanilla custard
240 g (8.47 oz) milk
60 g (2.12 oz) sugar
1/2 vanilla pod
19 g (0.67 oz) cornstarch
40 g (1.41 oz) egg yolks
11 g (0.39 oz) unsalted butter

Raspberry jam
66 g (2.33 oz) raspberries
134 g (4.73 oz) sugar

Marzipan
110 g (3.88 oz) almond flour
110 g (3.88 oz) sugar
50 g (1.76 oz) frozen strawberries
30 g (1.06 oz) water

Instructions

Sponge cake
Preheat oven to 180° C (356 degrees Fahrenheit) and prepare some large muffin tins.
Melt the butter and set it aside to cool.
Whip the eggs and sugar on high speed until the mixture has tripled in volume.
Sift the flour and fold it carefully into the egg mixture until just incorporated.
Fold in the butter.
Pour the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cakes feel spongy upon light pressure.
Cool the cakes completely before assembly.

Vanilla custard
Mix all the ingredients for the vanilla custard in a small pan and then bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Let it boil for 1 minute.
Strain the mixture though a sieve and set aside to cool. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to
prevent a skin from forming on the custard.

Raspberry jam
Put all the ingredients for the jam into a small pan and bring to a boil while pressing the berries with a fork.
Boil the jam for 5 minutes while stirring and then set aside to cool.

Marzipan
Bring the water, strawberries and the sugar to a simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes. Do not press on the berries!
Strain the strawberries and keep the sugar syrup. Boil the sugar syrup to 118° C (244.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
Pour the almond flour on to a baking paper. Pour the sugar syrup over the almond flour and let it cool.
Scrape the mixture from the baking paper in to a food processor. Process until the mixture forms a smooth ball, approximately 1 minute. Knead the marzipan by hand until smooth. If it is too dry, add 5 ml (0.17 fl oz) water. If it is too sticky, add some icing sugar.

Assembly
Whip the cream to soft peaks. Roll out the marzipan into 4 rounds that are 3-4 mm thick.
Divide the sponge cakes in 3 pieces. Put vanilla custard on layer one and jam on layer two. Smear a good amount of whipped cream on the third layer and on the sides of the cake.
Cover the cakes with the rolled out marzipan. Smooth out any bumps with your hand.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Sift icing sugar on top of the cakes and decorate with lemon balm.