Victoria(ish) sponge dessert

Method

1. Lightly grease and flour eight round doughnut ring savarin moulds and set aside.

2. To make the vanilla syrup, put the vanilla pod, sugar and 100ml/3½fl oz water in a pan and heating gently until the sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice to taste. Set aside and keep warm.

3. To make the batter, mix together the eggs, yeast and honey in a bowl. Gradually stir in the flour and sugar to make a batter. Pour in the melted butter and whisk until smooth.

4. Divide the mixture equally between the prepared savarin moulds, filling them to about 0.5cm from the top. Leave in a warm place, uncovered, to rise for an hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden, then allow to cool slightly before spooning over the warm vanilla syrup. Allow to cool completely, then turn out of the moulds.

6. To make the strawberry sauce, blend the strawberries together with a little icing sugar using a hand-held stick blender or food processor. Pass the sauce through a sieve. Taste and add more icing sugar, if necessary.

7. To make the strawberry buttercream, beat together the butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add a little of the strawberry sauce, to taste, then set aside.

8. To assemble, pipe some buttercream onto the base of a dish, then top with a savarin sponge. Pour over some strawberry sauce, then add whipped cream and top with strawberries. Garnish with tiny mint sprigs and dust with icing sugar. Repeat for the remaining sponges and serve.