Taya Starling

In case you didn’t know, today is National Strawberry Day in America (ok who comes up with these things??) which really for me is just an excuse to bake something new and yummy. It was perfect really because all the strawberries 🍓 I bought in ChiangMai recently all ripened at once so my fridge is overflowing with beautiful little berries. 😍
I decided that instead of making my usual crumble, shortcake, or oatmeal bars I’d try something different. Recently I’ve been checking out various French pastry shops here in Bangkok and I tried a French apple cake that looked bland but was delicious- I figured why not recreate that cake with a more suitable fruit? (In my opinion Apple desserts need a crust or some sort of crispy crunchy something to accompany the soft baked apple- strawberries do not). So while this recipe isn’t genuinely French, it was inspired by a French cake so to keep things simple in my recipe book I’m calling it a French Strawberry Cake🎂. Feel free to come up with a cuter name when you bake yours!
Now I have to warn you, this cake looks like angel food cake but isn’t. People will ask if it’s like a sponge cake, it’s not. The best description I can give you is: it’s light but dense and will melt in your mouth. It’s not overly sweet but perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, especially if you top it with fresh whipped cream. Okay I need to finish this post so I can go eat another slice. Just talking about it is making my mouth water 🍰🤤

Here’s what you need…
* 1 stick (1/2cup) unsalted butter softened
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 icing sugar*
* 2 large eggs
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 2 cups fresh strawberries sliced

Here’s what you do…
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9inch round cake pan with cooking spray and set aside. OR line a 9inch round cake pan with baking paper like I did.
2. In the bowl of your kitchenaid or whatever stand mixer you have, whip together the softened butter and 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar + 1/2 cup of the icing sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 or so minutes.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Then beat in the vanilla.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with your flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
5. Once the batter is nice and mixed, fold in your sliced strawberries.
6. Next, spread the batter into your prepared cake pan.**
7. Bake on the center rack of your oven until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-40 minutes.
8. Let the cake cool completely in the pan (i know i know it’s a pure test of patience but trust me on this it will all be worth it!) before you slice and serve the cake.

Notes

*if you don’t have icing sugar you can use 1 cup of granulated sugar
**you can also sprinkle a light layer of sugar on top before baking- I didn’t do this because my strawberries were nice and sweet and 1 cup of sugar already seems like enough to me. Alternately when my strawberries aren’t sweet or ripe enough, I slice them up and toss them with about 1/4 cup of sugar and let them sit while I prepare the rest of the recipe.

I used a 9-inch, light silver metal cake pan for this cake. Because the bottom of my pan and severely sliced up and I’m in need of a new one, i elected to line my pan with baking paper as opposed to just spraying the bottom with baking spray.

I also used fresh, not frozen strawberries.

The cake is meant to be “custard-like” in the middle. It’s not under baked but it won’t be “crumby” like a traditional cake.

My oven is extremely hot so it only took 30 mins to get my cake nice and golden brown (& pass the toothpick test). Some people will need to bake the cake longer- for 35 – 40 minutes. As usual, the color of your cake pans, size of strawberries and individual ovens will all factor into the correct baking time. I recommend checking your cake about 5 mins or so before the suggested baking time to see where it’s at. Better to be cautious than to burn a perfectly yummy cake!