Strawberry cake 

1. Preheat the oven to 329°F/ 165°C and prepare a inch/ 20 cm-diameter round cake pan, lining it with parchment paper on the bottom only.
2. In a bowl, mix and sift the dry ingredients, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the softened butter with the granulated sugar for about 3 minutes until creamy and smooth.
4. Lower the speed of the mixer and add the vanilla extract and egg whites one by one, then return to high speed and mix for a further 5 minutes to obtain a voluminous mixture.
5. Add the dry ingredients and milk alternately and in batches, mixing with a spatula.
6. Finish by adding the strawberry puree and mixing again until you have a homogeneous pink cake batter.
7. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, until lightly golden on top.
8. Leave the cake to cool completely to room temperature.

Assembling cake pops

1. In a large bowl, crumble the cooled strawberry cake into a fine, lump-free crumb mixture.
2. Add the cream cheese and stir with a spoon until the mixture is a little compact and sticky.
3. Shape cake balls of about 20g using your hands or a small ice-cream scoop, and roll between your palms to form smooth balls.
4. Place the cake balls in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
5. Heat the chocolate or candy melt in a double boiler or in the microwave.
6. Dip the ends of the lollipop sticks into the melted chocolate, then insert them into the center of the balls (run your finger around the stick to remove any excess chocolate) and leave them to cool completely in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes.
7. Reheat the chocolate until fluid and place in a deep bowl.
8. Dip the cake pops completely into the melted chocolate, shaking lightly to release any excess.
9. Sprinkle freeze-dried strawberry powder on top.
10. Place the cake pops on a cake pop stand and leave to harden completely before eating.