StRaWbErRy CaKe

I love strawberries and the good, sweet, ripe ones are becoming more available as Summer approaches.  I bought a big 4 lb box at Costco and needed to use them up so I whipped up a variation of Martha Stewart's coffee cake.  It's more like a dense-all-in-one shortcake.  Easy, fast, and yummy.  It has lots of berries that turn to bubbly jam-like morsels.  Top it with fresh whipped cream and you have a Summer treat that is perfect for eating on the porch (OK, I don't have a porch.  I really want one though.  So we just sit out in our Adirondack chairs under the tree and enjoy the evening anyway)

Strawberry Summer Cake

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk (*plus 2 T to thin if necessary)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
2-3 Tablespoon Demerara sugar (coarse) for top

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 or 10-inch pie pan or springform pan (what I used)

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth. *Can thin with extra milk if necessary. Should be consistency of muffin batter or thick cake batter.*

Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer. Sprinkle Demerara sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about another 50 minutes to 60 minutes. (Gooey strawberries on the tester are a given.) Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.



Perfect whipped cream 


1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
½ c. Cream Cheese
½ c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese and sugar until soft and fluffy. Add vanilla. Add cold Heavy Cream and whip until thick and almost forming peaks. Eat with a spoon…I mean, top your favorite dessert and enjoy!