Strawberry Vanilla Cake

I’ve been on a hunt lately, a hunt for beautiful stoneware that can go from the oven straight to the table. And it has to be heavy stoneware, not glass or glazed porcelain. When I began this search, I quickly realized that the most beautiful pans do not come cheap. And the ones I did like were surprisingly not available in any store within 50 miles of where I live. Weird, right? So I ordered some online and they arrived broken. Twice. And it broke my heart because my precious toys were broken. I might have kinda sulked, I don’t know. Anyway the hubby surprised me with a trip to the nearest Ikea store (which is like 2 hours away) for retail therapy. Yes, I know, I am spoilt!

Well, it did cheer me up and I decided to pick up one of their baking dishes for the time being. Then I spent some time thinking up a gorgeous baked pasta or baked chicken recipe to bake in the pan for the first time. I ditched that idea and decided to make something sweet instead. It might seem weird to you, I mean, what difference does it make what I cook in the pan for the first time, right? But it is kind of an Indian thing. We like to begin with something sweet and happy. Like cake.

Can anything be sweeter and happier than juicy summer strawberries studded on a luscious vanilla cake batter?

While the cake was baking (which took longer than usual because it is not a metal pan), I made a quick strawberry syrup to drizzle on top.

I’ve been hoarding and freezing summer’s best berries just for days like these, when the craving for something fresh, juicy and fruity hits me, and I just cannot wait one more precious second!!

It is a beautiful cake, with a lovely golden crust, sweet vanilla flavor and bursting with the freshness and juiciness of the berries. Some of my berries did sink to the bottom, but hey, I think it’s part of the rustic charm of this cake. It took every ounce of my willpower to save some for the boys.

STRAWBERRY VANILLA CAKE {SERVED WITH FRESH STRAWBERRY SYRUP}

You will need:

For the cake,

• All purpose flour – 1 cup
• Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
• Baking soda – 1/4 tsp
• Salt – 1/4 tsp
• Butter – 1/4 cup + a little extra for greasing the pan
• Sugar – 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp
• Egg – 1, large
• Vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp
• Buttermilk – 1/2 cup
• Strawberries – 8-10, hulled and halved

For the syrup,

• Strawberries – 2 cups, hulled and roughly chopped
• Sugar – 1/4 cup
• Lemon juice – from 1 large lemon

How to:

• Strawberry Vanilla Cake: Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F. Butter and dust a 9″ round cake pan with flour, tapping out the excess. Line the bottom with parchment paper and lightly butter the paper again (you can also just line the whole pan with foil instead).
• Sift the dry ingredients together and keep aside.
• In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup sugar and butter together. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well to combine.
• Add the flour and buttermilk to this alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Do not over-mix. The batter will be thick. Pour into the skillet and smooth the top with a spatula.
• Line the strawberry halves on top and sprinkle 1 tbsp of granulated sugar over the berries.
• Bake for 20 minutes (if using metal pan) or 30-35 minutes (in the case of stoneware baking dish) or till the cake passes the toothpick test.
• Cool cake in pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife along the sides to loosen the cake and invert it over a wire rack to cool cake completely. When sufficiently cool, place a plate over the cake and invert again so that the berries are on top. Serve slices of the cake with the strawberry syrup drizzled all over them.
• Homemade Strawberry Syrup: Make the syrup when the cake is in the oven. Combine the ingredients for the syrup in a saucepan and bring to boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 5-7 minutes. Mash the berries lightly with the back of a spoon.
• Remove from heat when syrup is thick and coats a spoon dipped in it. Cool for 5 minutes, skim off any scum that may have collected on top.
• Strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to collect as much syrup as possible. Store in a clean, dry jar. The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

Notes:

• I originally used this recipe to bake an apple cake in a skillet. This is a very versatile recipe and can be adapted to use any stone fruit or summer berries. Think slices of peaches, nectarine, cherries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries. Use extra fruit to make a simple fruit syrup like I did with the strawberries here.

You can have this cake warm or cold, plain or with syrup (or a big scoop of ice cream, I won’t judge you!).

So go on, bake up a storm. Have fun. Make something sweet and pretty!

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I am sharing this over at Angie’s amazing blog link party at The Novice Gardener and Saucy Saturdays.