White Chocolate-Strawberry Cream Cake

Cake:
1 cup milk, heated to a simmer
3 oz white chocolate, chopped
cooking spray
2 1/2 cups unsifted cake flour (not self-rising)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups + 1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 large eggs, separated
2 pints strawberries, 8 whole berries halved, remaining berries sliced

White Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 pint heavy cream, heated to a simmer
6 oz white chocolate, chopped
1 pint heavy cream, chilled

Cake: In bowl, pour hot milk over white chocolate; stir until smooth, let cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 2 (9-in.) round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottoms with waxed paper. Coat paper; dust pans with flour. In bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar 3 minutes, until fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then yolks, 1 at a time, until blended. On low, beat in flour mixture (in fourths) alternately with white-chocolate mixture (in thirds).

In bowl, with clean beaters, beat whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 1 Tbsp sugar, until stiff, billowy peaks form. Fold into batter. Spread in pans. Bake at 26 minutes, until pick inserted in centers tests clean. Cool in pans on rack 10 minutes; invert onto rack. Remove paper; invert again. Cool.

Assemble: To finish frosting, in bowl, beat chilled white-chocolate mixture and 1 pint cream until billowy peaks form. Level tops of cakes with serrated knife. Place 1 cake on plate; spread with 2/3 cup frosting. Top with sliced berries. Spread with 2/3 cup frosting. Top with second cake; frost. Garnish with berries and pansies.

Frosting: In bowl, pour 1/2 pint hot cream over chocolate. Let strand 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth; chill.