Preheat the oven to 350F (177C) convection and line 1 large cookie sheet and an 8 inch pan with parchment paper.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of the stand mixer and using the whisk attachment, at full speed, beat until they're frothy.

With the mixer on medium speed, stream in the cup of sugar. Turn the mixer up to full speed and beat just until the meringue reaches stiff peaks.

Add in the egg yolks and vanilla and turn the mixer to medium-high speed, mixing, a few seconds, just until they're fully combined.

Sift in the flour and salt and turn the mixer up to medium-low speed, mixing just until the flour is incorporated.

Use the rubber spatula to gently scrape the bottom and edge of the bowl and make sure it's all combined.

Gently place the batter in a large piping bag fit with a large round tip and pipe a thin layer of batter into the 8 inch pan. Smooth it out and bake for about 18ish minutes, or until it no longer looks wet and is a golden color.

Meanwhile pipe identical lines of batter (just like eclairs) onto the cookie sheet. Try to let the piping bag glide and not press down as your piping so you don't deflate the air.

Sprinkle the cookies with granulated sugar (I do a generous amount because a lot of it falls off).

Bake on the middle rack (top rack if not convection) for 12ish minutes (rotate after 8-9 minutes if one side is getting darker) until they're dry and lightly golden brown.

Place the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat and allow it to come to a simmer.

Meanwhile place the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk aggressively for 1-2 minutes while the milk heats.

Remove the milk from the heat and stream half of it into the egg mixture, while whisking, to temper the eggs.

Then add the egg mixture to the saucepan with the rest of the milk and cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes, while whisking continuously (doesn’t have to be aggressive whisking just keep it moving the whole time).

The custard won’t thicken significantly but it should thicken slightly. To test if the custard is done cooking, it should coat the back of a spoon and when you draw a line through it (on the back of the spoon) the line stays separated. You can also use a thermometer and bring the cream to about 180F-185F.

Pour the custard back into a large bowl, add the butter and vanilla and mix just until they're all combined.

In a small bowl, mix together the gelatin and water until they’re combined. Let it set and then microwave it for 10 seconds. Mix and then add it to the custard. Whisk the gelatin well with the custard and then cover the surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 2 hours until the custard feels somewhat set and still a little jiggly but not runny.

While the Bavarian cream is cooling, dice the strawberries and toss them with the sugar and liqueur. This will help the strawberries release their juice.

Once everything is ready to go, sift the powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer). Add heavy whipping cream and mix on medium-low speed until it thickens a little, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for just another 30-60 seconds, until the cream holds stiff peaks. Don’t over-mix.

Remove the custard from the fridge and use a whisk or hand mixer to mix it until it’s smooth again. This will disrupt the gelatin but it will set again when we put it back into the fridge. Make sure you whisk it until there are no more lumps and the custard is smooth again.

Add ⅓ of the whipped cream to the custard and whisk until it’s completely smooth. Add another ⅓ of the heavy whipping cream to the custard and now use a rubber spatula to fold it in gently. Repeat with the last ⅓.

If you made the round 8 inch cake, place it in a 9 inch spring form pan and poke a bunch of holes into it with a fork. Strain the juice from the strawberries and drizzle it all on top of the cake layer.*If you're using store bought lady fingers, just assemble them tightly as a layer, the best you can. Cut them if you have to.

Assemble the lady fingers around the edge of the bottom layer. *If you created the bottom layer with just lady fingers, pipe a little bit of the cream on them to fill in the cracks so it stays together as one layer.

Spread half of the strawberries on top and then pipe half of the Bavarian cream on top of the strawberries.

Now place a layer of the lady fingers on top of the Bavarian cream, as tightly as possible and then top with the other half of the strawberries and the other half of the cream. Refrigerate the cake for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Sift the powdered sugar and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer).

Add heavy whipping cream and vanilla and mix on medium-low speed until it thickens a little, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for just another 30-60 seconds, until the cream holds stiff peaks. Don’t over-mix.

Pipe on top of chilled cake and top with fresh strawberries, gold foil and a dusting of powdered sugar.