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1
Sift together the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, and salt). In another bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest).
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2
Beat the butter on high speed until it is light and creamy. Add 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and beat until it is nice, light yellow color. (I used my stand mixer but you can use a regular mixer.)
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3
On medium speed: Alternate adding a third of the dry ingredients and a third of the wet ingredients to the butter mixture, beating just until combined each time. Repeat until all of the wet and dry ingredients are added.
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4
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites, the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, and the cream of tartar together until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Carefully fold the whipped egg whites into the cake batter.
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5
Distribute the batter evenly into two 9-inch cake pans, which have been greased and dusted with flour.
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6
Bake the cakes at 350u00b0 F until the they are set in the middle (30 to 35 minutes). Let the cake cool completely.
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7
In a saucepan, bring the cream and lavender to a simmer, then remove from heat. Steep the mixture for 5 minutes, testing the flavor of the cream periodically -- stop steeping when you like the intensity of the lavender flavor. Strain the lavender from the cream. Cool completely in the refrigerator
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8
Whip the cream to stiff peaks, then add the sugar and vanilla. We used a mix of blue and red food coloring to make the cream lavender colored (the 2-year-old helping insisted), but you can leave it white if you prefer.
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9
Place one layer of the cake on a plate. Spread 1 to 2 cups whipped cream on the first layer, then cover it with strawberries. Top this layer with the next round of cake, then frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream and decorate it with strawberries.
