Preheat your oven to 180 degrees

Put all your ingredients together.sift the flour,cocoa and bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl and set aside

Add the yolks and vanilla essence and continue whisking

Add the sugar and continue whisking it in till its fully incorporated

Add in the sifted flour in two batches while you gently fold it in to the egg mixture to preserve the air

Put the batter in the baking tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

When baked wait 5 minutes before removing it from the tin then run a knife all over the tin and turn it upside down.wait for it to cool for at least 2 hours before you ice

In the meantime mix the sugar water and put them in pan to heat till the sugar dissolves and reduces a little.when it cools add the rum.choose 4 best looking strawberries to garnish on top the rest dice and put in a little of the syrup and let it soak

Whip the cream till soft peak form

Cut the cake into 3 equal slices sprinkle generous the syrup on all the layers

Put a little cream on the board to secure the first layer in place

Add the final layer and apply cream all over the cake