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. If you do not have one, carefully pour the berries into your 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. The reduction should look like tomato sauce, not watery.

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

If you are making the reduction ahead, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to use it. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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 with the paddle attachment and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.

Divide the batter into 2 of the 3 prepared pans, if you are using a scale each pan should hold about 17 ounces (or 3 cups) of batter. Leave the remaining third of the batter in the mixing bowl.

Add ¼ cup of the strawberry reduction and the (optional) ½ teaspoon of strawberry emulsion to the reserved batter and stir until combined. Add a drop of red food coloring (optional) to counteract the berries turning slightly purple when they bake.

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 inserted comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool until you can touch them (about 10 minutes) 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 cookie crumbs and pulse until small crumble pieces are formed and place them in a separate large bowl.

Add the freeze-dried strawberries to the food processor and pulse until the crumbs are roughly the same size as the shortbread crumbs. Add the strawberry crumbs to the shortbread crumbs.

Add the melted butter to the bowl of crumbs and mix until the butter is evenly distributed and the crumbs are evenly saturated. Set aside while you layer your cake.

If you plan to use the crumbs at a later time, store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag, they are shelf stable for a week. Or keep them in the freezer to avoid them going stale.

Starting with a trimmed white layer of cake, smooth a thin even layer of easy buttercream frosting over the cake, and then pipe a dam of buttercream around the edge.

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

Spread another layer of buttercream on the bottom of the strawberry layer of cake and place it on top.

Continue the same layering process with the strawberry flavor cake and then again with the top layer of white cake.

Give the whole cake a crumb coat to seal and set the buttercream and chill it in the fridge for 15 minutes.

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

Holding the cake over a sheet pan or large bowl of strawberry crumble, gently coat the sides of the entire cake.

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

Using a fluted tip pipe buttercream dollops around the top edge and place a cut strawberry in each dollop.