Strawberry Goodness

I recently saw this recipe on SmittenKitchen.com. I could not look away. Needless to say, I can't get it out of my mind. Once Blake is awake from her afternoon snooze, I think we are going to have to hit up the local strawberry stand nearby. It looks delish!

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Strawberry Summer Cake from smittenkitchen.com
Adapted, only slightly, from Martha Stewart

The recipe recommends using barley flour, but I don't think it is necessary. On Smitten Kitchen, they point out most of us associate whole grain flours with heartiness and heaviness, but they say this is neither — it’s silky and delicate, like the best cake flour you’ve ever bought, and it has a subtle creamy, nuttiness to it should go fantastic with berries. Again, they say this cake works like a dream with 100% all-purpose flour, but if you’ve got barley flour around, swapping it in for half the volume is recommended.

Also, it was noted that the batter itself could go with 2 tablespoons less sugar (i.e. 7/8 cup sugar instead of a whole one). If that’s sounds good to you too, why not go for it...or that is, go without it. Leave the sugar on top. It can then contribute to the berries turning into jam.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate
1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour (can swap 3/4 cup with 3/4 cup or 75 grams of barley flour, see Note)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (200 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup (118 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 pound (450 grams) strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (what I used). They noted they did not test this with a standard 9-inch pie plate but looking at the margin of space leftover in the deep-dish pan after baking the cake, they suspected you’d be safe. This cake would also work in a 9- or 10-inch springform or cake pan. The 10-inch would make a thinner cake than pictured.

Whisk flour or flours, 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 egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.

Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer (might have to overlap a few to get them all in). Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons 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 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.

FYI if you to prepare it in advance: Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, loosely covered, but good luck with that!

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I'll let you know if it is as good as it looks! Happy Wednesday everyone!