Oh, YUM!

Okay, now get to work and make this light and delicious strawberry cake.  I found it on Smitten Kitchen, a blog with great recipes, who had adapted it from Martha.  I changed it again, substituting 1/2 cup whole wheat white flour for part of the regular flour.  The interesting thing about this cake is how long it cooks: about one hour, although it’s very quick to make.  The strawberries become jam spots, the sugar caramelizes, and it all is a wonderful summer dessert.  While it is best served on the day it is made, it is still really good the next day.  For breakfast, maybe? And while the recipe suggests a dollop of soft whipped cream, my husband thought that ice cream was a great topping.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate
1 1/2 cups  all-purpose flour (can swap 1/2  cup all-purpose flour with 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch deep pie (or cake) pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (what I used). (Smitten Kitchen notes that 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 (though I had 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.  Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream, or ice cream, if desired.