Kvaefjord

This is not a classical representation of Kvaefjord, or "World's Best Cake", I took a recipe and made a few changes.  It makes two cakes, so it's perfect for potluck or party (I brought it to a potluck a few weeks ago and got great reviews!).

Ingredients:
CAKE LAYER
7 Tbs. of butter, or 3 1/2 oz.
1/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder

ALMOND MERINGUE
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg whites

PASTRY CREAM
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

TOPPING
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
4 Tbs. of sliced almonds (optional)
1 quart of fresh strawberries, sliced


~ For the cake layer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and milk (if milk is too cold, or is right out of the fridge, it will make the butter harden and clump up), blend well.  Add the flower and baking soda, mix until smooth.
Spread out the batter in two 9 inch circles on parchment paper placed on a baking sheet. Circles will be 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick.

~ For the meringue, preheat oven to 300 F.
Put almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor, and pulse until the almonds resemble bread crumbs.
Beat a 1/4 cup of sugar and the egg whites together until stiff. Add the rest of the sugar and beat well. Fold the almond "flour" into the meringue with a spatula. Don't work it too much, because the meringue will get loose.
Using a piping bag, pipe the meringue in the form of a spiral onto the circles of cake batter.
Bake 17-25 minutes.
Allow the layers to cool before you take them off of the parchment paper.

~ For the pastry cream, bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy bottomed saucepan. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually add the hot milk to the cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer the milk mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens slightly, 7-10 minutes.
Whisk in the egg yolks, then cook, stirring, until slightly thicker (about 2 minutes longer). Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter.
Cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally. Add the vanilla, cover and chill thoroughly. Pastry cream will keep, tightly covered, in the fridge for 3 days.

~ For the topping and assembly:
Peel the cake and meringue layer off the parchment paper, and lay (meringue side up) on a plate. Spread half of the pastry cream on the meringue. Place the sliced strawberries in top of the pastry cream, cover the strawberries with half of the whipped whipping cream. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.
Repeat assembly for the other cake.

This is a more traditional version, omit the whipped cream and place the other cake layer on top of the strawberries.