Defrost the strawberries or chop up your fresh strawberries.

Add the strawberries and sugar to a heavy bottom sauce pan and stir them together.

Cook over medium heat until they begin to break down and release their juices.

Add in lemon zest, extract and salt and turn off the heat.

Blend the berries until smooth using an immersion blender.

Over low heat, bring the berries back to a simmer and allow them to reduce until about half (20-30 minutes).

Stir occasionally to prevent the berries from burning.

Let it cool before using. Reserve ¼ cup of the reduction to be used in the strawberry cake layer.

Prepare 3 six-inch round cake pans with cake goop or parchment paper.

Add the white cake mix, flour, sugar, salt, sour cream, melted butter, milk, egg whites, and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.

Divide the batter into 2 of the 3 prepared pans.

Add ¼ cup of the strawberry reduction and optionally, ½ teaspoon of strawberry emulsion to the reserved batter and stir until combined.

Pour the strawberry cake batter into the third prepared pan.

Bake the cake layers at 335°F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool until you can touch them and flip them out onto a cooling rack until completely cooled.

Wrap in plastic wrap and flash freeze for up to an hour before layering the cake.

Add the shortbread cookies to the food processor bowl. Pulse until medium crumbs are formed.

Add the strawberry extract or emulsion to the mixture of cookie crumbs and pulse until small crumble pieces are formed.

Add the freeze-dried strawberries to the food processor and pulse until the crumbs are formed.

Add the melted butter to the bowl of crumbs and mix until evenly distributed.

Starting with a trimmed white layer of cake, smooth a thin layer of buttercream over the cake.

Spread about 3 tablespoons of strawberry reduction in the center of the dam.

Continue layering with strawberry flavor cake and white cake on top.

Give the whole cake a crumb coat and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Frost the cake with the final coat of buttercream and smooth.

Gently coat the sides of the entire cake with strawberry crumble.

Sprinkle strawberry crunch crumbles on the top center of the cake.

Pipe buttercream dollops around the top edge and place a cut strawberry in each dollop.