Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

Some time ago, my sister-in-law had expressed a wish for a strawberry cake. Well, why not? Now, baking a cake is an art; it has its rules that must be strictly followed. The amount of flour is better weighed than measured, for instance. Butter cakes have proven to be finicky fussy things that like their eggs and butter at room temperature. They have a positive aversion to over mixing. Wretched optimist that I am, I decided to experiment with the basic buttermilk country cake recipe from The Cake Bible and try for that elusive creation, a strawberry cake.

At room temperature:

4 large egg yolks

2/3 cup buttermilk (substitute: 1 tablespoon vinegar in a measuring cup topped with milk to 1 cup line)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups sifted cake flour (I used 1/2 cup cake flour and 1 1/2 cups special flour)

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup fresh strawberries, washed and gently patted dry with paper towels

1 tablespoon granulated sugar or sanding sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 400˚F. [Cake Baker's Note: It was 350 in the original recipe but the addition of fruit increases the volume.]  Grease a 9x2 inch cake pan and line the bottom with a parchment circle. Grease the parchment then flour the pan and parchment. Set aside. [Cake Baker's Note: Since the edges turned out dry and hard, I conclude the pan was too small and the temperature too high. Next time I would use either a 9 inch square pan or a 10 inch springform pan, reduce the heat to 350 and bake 30-40 minutes.]

Slice the green tops off the strawberries. On a clean dry work surface, place strawberries with the cut tops down and slice each strawberry into 1/8 inch slices. Let strawberries drain on paper towels.  Set aside. Pour off sour milk, if using, to make 2/3 cup. Remove 1/4 cup  from the 2/3 cup buttermilk or sour milk. [Cake Baker's Note: I haven't figured out yet what to do with any left over sour milk or how long it will keep in the fridge.] In a medium bowl, lightly combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk, and the vanilla. Set aside.

 








 In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend dry ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and the remaining buttermilk or sour milk. Combine on low speed until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat until just combined. [Cake Baker's Note: the original recipe said beat 1 1/2 minutes.] Add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating until just combined. [Cake Baker's Note: the original recipe said beat 20 seconds after each addition.] Scrape down the sides. By hand, gently fold in half the sliced strawberries. 

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Gently shift the pan back and forth on the countertop to eliminate air bubbles. [Cake Baker's Note: I saw this on an America's Test Kitchen DVD.] Gently press the remaining strawberries into the top of the batter. If using, sprinkle the tops of the exposed strawberries with granulated sugar or sanding sugar. Use your fingers for this. Try not to get any sugar on the batter as the sugar leaves pit marks in the cake top on baking. If you are going to put a topping on the cake afterwards, the pit marks do not matter. [Cake Baker's Note:  Save the half-cup strawberries for decorating the cake top later.  I noticed that some of the strawberries in the batter closest to the edges got stuck to the pan. To prevent this another idea is to pour half the batter in the pan and arrange the strawberries on top then pour the remainder of the batter on top of the strawberries.]

Bake for 70 minutes until the top is golden brown and the color of the strawberries deepen to a bright red.  A tester inserted in the center should come out clean. Remove cake from the oven and cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around the edges so that the cake doesn't crack as it cools and separates from the sides. Unmold the cake onto a greased wire rack and remove the parchment circle. Then re-invert the cake so the strawberries are on top. Cool completely before adding any toppings.

If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with crème fraîche and decorate with fresh strawberries or chocolate curls. To make crème fraîche, whip 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, 1/2 cup sour cream, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are raised. This makes a thick cream topping that spreads easily and yet won't melt or separate like whipped cream. It has a delicious tangy taste. Cake Decorating Idea: Spread crème fraîche on top of the cooled cake. If using fresh strawberries, dip one side in a little lime or lemon juice to prevent browning. Place UNDIPPED side down on the the crème fraîche topping and arrange in an attractive pattern.

Postscript:
Since baking this cake on Sunday, I found a recipe for Cornmeal Strawberry Cake on allrecipes.com. But that's for another weekend, another blog posting.