OLD-FASHIONED STRAWBERRY CAKE

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake image

If strawberry doughnuts are your thing, then this cake is absolutely your thing. A classic, old-fashioned buttermilk cake with bits of berries strewn throughout, it manages to taste just like your favorite fried treat (without the frying, of course). Be sure to bake the cake all the way through; strawberries have a high water content and tend to make for a soggy cake if not baked properly. The top should be crackly, deeply and perfectly golden brown, and the edges should pull away from the sides of the pan.

Provided by Alison Roman

Categories cakes, dessert

Time 45m

Yield 8 to 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

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Ingredients

1/2 cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), softened, plus more for pan
2 cups/255 grams all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup/70 grams granulated sugar
1/3 cup/75 grams light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup/180 milliliters buttermilk
10 ounces/190 grams strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
3 tablespoons demerara sugar, for sprinkling (you can use granulated sugar in a pinch)

Steps:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Smear or brush a bit of butter onto the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan and line with parchment paper (either cut to fit the bottom, or leaving some hanging over the edges for easy removal).
Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.
In a stand mixer (or using an electric hand mixer and a large bowl), beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla together on medium-high, periodically scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything incorporates, until the mixture is pale, light, fluffy and creamy, about 5 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating to blend between additions. (This is a good time to scrape down the sides again.)
Reduce the mixer speed to low and carefully add half the flour mixture, followed by half the buttermilk. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and buttermilk, beating just until no large lumps remain.
Using a spatula, gently fold in half the strawberries and transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Scatter with remaining strawberries and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake until cake is puffed, deeply golden brown on the top and pulling away at the sides, 45 to 50 minutes. (It should spring back slightly when pressed in the center and appear fully baked where the strawberries meet the cake.)
Let cake cool completely before removing it from the pan (either by inverting or lifting with the parchment lining). The cake can be baked up to three days ahead and stored tightly wrapped at room temperature, or refrigerated.