Strawberry Summer Cake

Ahh, Summer.  Sun burns, late nights, BBQing, sprinklers, and fresh, sweet fruit. 

 

This cake screams summer.  Its packed with naturally sweet and delicious fresh strawberries, and has a light, creamy texture.  Perfect after a BBQed dinner, watching the hot sun go down on a hazy summer day.  My cousins made this delicious cake at our family reunion earlier this month, and after only one bite I absolutely NEEDED to have the recipe.  My Aunt told me it was from another blogger: Smitten Kitchen.  And now I have another blog I am hooked on.
I hope you all are having a delicious summer.  Enjoy it with a slice of this cake, and some vanilla ice cream. 

Strawberry Summer Cake:
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

-6 tbsp butter
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
-1 egg
-1/2 cup milk
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9" or 10" spring form pan with cooking spray (I actually used this enormous pie pan I have, but I recommend the spring form pan- easier to remove and no risk of the cake rising over the edges!).
In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In another large mixing bowl, beat the butter and 1 cup sugar with an electric mixer for a few minutes, until the mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.  Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla until just combined.  Next, add the dry mixture in small increments, until just incorporated.
Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan.  Place the strawberries on top of the cake batter, cut side down. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp sugar on top of the strawberries.

 Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, then reduce the oven temperature to 325, and bake for another 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (there will be some strawberry juices on the toothpick- thats ok.  But you don't want runny cake batter on it!).

Let the cake cool in the pan completely.  Serve with vanilla ice cream or sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.  Ta Da!