Black Pepper Sponge Cake with Strawberry Balsamic Whipped Cream 
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Black Pepper Spongecake with Balsamic Strawberry Whipped Cream
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup caster (very fine) sugar
4 eggs
2 cups self rising flour
1 large vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped from the pod
2 teaspoons fine ground black pepper
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar
1 pound fresh California strawberries
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8" springform cake pans and line bottoms with circle of parchment paper.
Beat butter and sugar together with electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until just incorporated. Fold in flour gradually until smooth.
Stir in vanilla bean and black pepper and pour batter into prepared cake pans.
Bake 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean from center of cake. Allow to cool in baking pan for 8-10 minutes then remove and place on rack to cool before assembly.
To assemble:
Rinse whole strawberries and gently pat dry. Divide into thirds. Cut tops off of two-thirds of the strawberries and cut into 1/4"-1/2" slices. Reserve remaining third of whole strawberries to decorate top of cake.
In large mixing bowl, combine heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and balsamic vinegar. With electric mixer, whip until stiff peaks form.
Place one cooled cake layer on cake stand or serving plate. Spread sliced strawberries evenly across the cake.
Layer the strawberries with half the balsamic whipped cream. Top with the second cake layer. Repeat with whipped cream mixture and top with whole strawberries. For an interesting styling trick, leave some strawberries whole and cut some halves to add dimension to the garnish.
Total Preparation Time: 20 mins Makes Serves 8
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