Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9″ spring-form pan

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar. Beat on high for 3- 4 minutes on high speed until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Add in 1/2 tsp vanilla paste and lemon paste or extract. Scrape into a large bowl. Cover and set aside. Wash the bowl and whisk of the stand mixer.

In the same bowl of the stand mixture with a whisk attachment ( make certain it has been throughly washed) Beat the egg whites and salt until they form stiff peaks- about 2 minutes on high speed. Add in remaining 2 TBSP of sugar and beat about 20-25 seconds more on high .

With a silicone spatula, fold one third of the egg white mixture into the beaten egg yolks and sugar. Sift over one third of the flour. Repeat taking care not to deflate the egg whites until all the ingredients are well combined. Gently fold in the cooled melted butter. Pour the batter into the spring from pan and bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let the pan cool for 5 minutes, then release from the pan. Once the cake is cooled, cut into 2u0022 cubes. Finish assembling in directions below.

Bring milk and scraped vanilla seeds and empty vanilla pods to a simmer over medium low heat in a heavy bottomed medium size sauce pan. After 2 minutes, Using tongs, remove the pods from the warm milk. If using vanilla paste- just add to warm milk-omit the whole beans.

Thoroughly combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium sized bowl. Add in yolks and whisk well until thick paste is formed.

Add a ladle (about 1/4-1/2 cup) of the hot milk to the sugar/egg mixture to temper*. Whisk the milk in gently to incorporate. Add 3-4 more ladles of hot milk, (whisking in between) until yolks are warmed. Turn the saucepan of remaining milk to down to low heat. Gently pour the now tempered egg mixture into the saucepan of remaining hot milk and whisk constantly until custard/ pudding comes to a slow boil and thickens. Small bubbles will form as it thickens. Keep whisking.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in butter.

Transfer the pudding mixture to a bowl, cover the surface of pudding with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. With the tip of a knife, poke a few tiny holes in the plastic, to allow steam to escape. Let rest for 30 minutes until just tepid.

In a heavy sauce pan, combine the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Stir on medium high until mixture comes to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Stir every minute or so to prevent sticking. After 5 minutes the berries will break down into a u0022jamu0022. Add a tablespoon of water at a time if the mixture is too thick. Berries have different amounts of water in them. Scrape berry filling into a bowl until ready to assemble trifle. You can make this filling in advance and keep in an airtight jar in your fridge for up to 1 week.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream on medium low until frothy for about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and add the vanilla and sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Chill up to 2 hours or until ready to serve.

In a glass trifle dish or large glass bowl, spread all of the berry jam over the bottom of the dish. Add half of the cut sponge cake cubes. Reserve 1 cup of whole berries to use for the top garnish.

Slide a layer of sliced strawberries against the glass so they show through just above the cake layer. Add half of the a layer of the Crème Anglaise/ custard to the cake layer. Top the custard with sliced berries.

Top the sliced strawberries and blueberries with 1/2 of the whipped cream mixture.

Next add the remaining sponge cake, remaining Crème anglaise/ custard another layers of fresh berries, and top with whipped cream. Smooth the whipped cream with an off-set spatula for a very even layer.

Create a pattern with sliced strawberries fanning out over the whipped cream. Sprinkle blueberries among the strawberries. Dot with edible flowers or w,ild strawberry blossoms. . Cover and chill for 2 hours before serving or overnight.