Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of an 8” round cake pan and line the pan with it.

Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).

Prepare a high-walled pan or baking dish that fits your cake pan to use as a water bath. Boil a small pot of water to use later. The water should be enough to cover 1 inch (2.5 cm of the pan). If using a springform or removable-bottom cake pan, line the outside with a few layers of foil to make sure no water leaks into the cake.

Combine the milk and butter in a medium-sized heatproof bowl. Microwave until melted. Stir to mix well.

Sift the cake flour into the mixture. Mix gently with a spatula until smooth.

Add the egg yolks. Mix again until evenly combined.

Add the egg whites into the clean mixing bowl of a stand mixer, or a clean bowl using a hand mixer. Beat at medium high speed until the egg whites are frothy. Slowly add the sugar while continuing to beat, until glossy and medium peaks form.

Scoop 1/4 of the beaten whites out and add it to the yolk mixture, Fold using a spatula until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the egg whites. Continue to fold everything together until just smooth. Don’t overmix but also avoid leaving large pieces of egg white.

Pour the batter into the lined cake pan. Drop the pan from 5” (12 cm) onto the table twice to release any extra large bubbles.

Place the cake pan in the water bath pan and add an inch of hot water. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted to the center of the cake comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan. Do not open the oven to check until 1 hour has gone by.

Run a knife along the edge of the pan to release the cake. Flip it on to a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before cutting and decorating.

While the cake cools, slice 8 oz (225 g) of strawberries into 1/4” (1/2 cm) slices and place them into a bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar and toss to coat well. Let them sit for at least an hour, up to 2 hours. Once the strawberries are glossy and sweet, remove them from the bowl and lay them out on a plate. Reserve the liquid left in the bowl.

Combine the cake syrup ingredients in a small bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved. (OPTIONAL) Add the reserved strawberry soaking liquid to the syrup; this adds extra strawberry flavor but will color the cake slices slightly pink.

Add the heavy cream into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, or a bowl and use a hand mixer. Sift the confectioners sugar into the cream. Whip at medium speed until very soft peaks begin to form, then stop immediately. Add a large scoop of the whipped cream into the melted gelatin. Stir with a spoon until fully mixed and consistent. Drizzle the gelatin mixture into the mixing bowl with the cream. Continue to whip at medium speed briefly, until soft peaks are formed. DO NOT over-whip, it will begin to separate out the gelatin (which is still usable, but will be a bit blobby and unattractive).

Once the cake has fully cooled, place it on a cutting board. Measure the height on 4 sides. Use toothpicks to mark evenly where the top should be cut off, and where the cake should be cut in half.

Use a serrated knife to slice off the top along the top of the toothpicks, and discard the browned top.

Slice the cake into two thin, even layers along the toothpicks. Move the top layer of cake onto a spinning cake stand (*Footnote), cut side down. Brush the syrup evenly onto the top of the cake.

Flip the other layer of the cake upside down. Brush the syrup evenly over the top.

Add a large dollop of the whipped cream onto the cake layer on the cake stand. Spread the cream with an offset spatula into an even thin layer across the top until the cream is just spilling over the edge.

Arrange as many strawberries as possible evenly on the cream.

Put another large dollop of cream on top of the strawberries. Spread evenly and thinly until just spilling over.

Place the top layer of the cake on top and line it up with the bottom cake.

Add another dollop of cream to the cake and spread again.

Smooth out the sides of the cake using the cream that spilled over earlier. Add a little extra cream if needed.

Once the cake is covered with a thin, even layer of cream, add another larger dollop to the cake. Spread a thicker layer of cream on top and then smooth out the sides.

(Optional) If you have any cream left, add it to a piping bag or ziplock bag with the corner cut off for decorating the top and/or sides if desired.

Decorate the cake with the remaining strawberries on top.

If using stabilized cream, place the cake uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the cream set. If using unstabilized cream, serve immediately or refrigerate and serve within a few hours.

To serve, you can slice the cake using a serrated knife once you transfer the cake from the fridge, if using unstabilized cream. If using stabilized cream, you can let the cake come back to room temperature, 1 hour or so, to achieve the best texture.