Dear world/lord/universe/god/lady gaga/divine being,
Thank you for summertime.
Thank you for summertime, for strawberries, for ovens, and for New York City.
Do you have any idea how much I love those four things? Any idea at all? Well I’m sorry if you don’t, because there’s absolutely no way that I can put it into words. No way possible. Not even worth an attempt. Just don’t even.
It’s clear why I’ve chosen to mention my intense adoration for summer, strawberries, and ovens. It’s summer, I made strawberry cake, and without ovens, well… I’d be blogless. That’s a no brainer. But New York City? What? Yeah.. I’m here. In Manhattan. For six weeks. Why? Well, I don’t think I’ve ever previously mentioned that I’m a dancer… but I am. I spent last summer working my dessert off at a dance program in the city, and fell so in love that I couldn’t resist coming back again. It pretty much rocks more than The Rolling Stones.
Manhattan is foodie paradise. My friends and I ended up in Chelsea Market a few days ago, and I was speechless. Literally considered moving in. I’d sleep in the basket shop. They have a basket shop! All baskets! We drooled over the railroad track ceiling and hearty brick walls.
Moving on, have you ever eaten Ray’s Famous Pizza of Greenwich Village? Because it’s ridiculous. The slices are like… the length of my torso.
We have a (tiny) (but cute) kitchen in our suite-style dorm, so I’ve been spending plennnnty of time taking in all of the incredibly precious markets here, and cooking cooking cooking. This vegetarian chili and cheddar cornbread got me the Roomie of the Night award. Thank you and you’re welcome.
And this strawberry-banana-chocolate chip-brown butter bread (thank you Joy the Baker!) fed 12 rambunctious dancers staring at a tiny t.v. to watch Beyonce on the BET awards. Dorm life is awesome. Especially with loaves of things.
There’s a gourmet Belgian Waffle truck here. We ate gourmet street cart pretzels (truffle cheddar, anyone?) on the steps of the Met. The Whole Foods is like Disneyland. This city.. I can’t get enough of it. Ever.
On a sadder note.. my camera broke. It straight up broke. I didn’t drop it, didn’t get it wet. It just stopped. So that’s cool… but hopefully it’ll be fixed soon!
Anyway.. back to this cake I made. It’s called a Summer Strawberry Cake, because it’s just that. A dollop of softly whipped cream and it’s a picnic treasure. 4th of July loves this cake. Pool parties love this cake. Those farmers markets strawberries that were calling your name? Please turn them into this cake.
Summer Strawberry Cake
Via the NYC Queen herself, Smitten Kitchen
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate
1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (200 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup (118 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 pound (450 grams) strawberries, hulled and halved
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan
Whisk flour 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. 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. (Gooey strawberries on the tester are a given.) Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.
It’s summer. Eat cake.
Jordana
Ive seen so many versions of smitten kitchens strawberry cake around lately, it really must be good! Yours looks especially delicious and im sure tastes just as wonderful 🙂 you roomies are very lucky people indeed!
çok güzel olmuş.
how do you cook like a goddess in those kitchens?? I’ve seen those kitchens!! Gabs suffered in those kitchens!! you are truly amazing!! and this cake looks divine! enjoy NYC!!!!
Jordana, this looks sort of like a cake my mother always made during my childhood. The recipe was from decades ago. She used canned pie filling, YOURS looks so much fresher and lighter. She called it “Peek a Boo” cake because the fruit was peeking thru the batter. She made it is a huge full sheet pan ( she was a caterer so you name the pan, we had it) Sooo, I am going to make your recipe for a BBQ tomorrow, and for a group picnic next weekend. Enjoy the city that never sleeps, and has everything you’d ever want to eat. p.s. I was Nana’s studio manager in Westborough for 14 years and saw you every time you visited Worcester. My you sure have changed ….so impressed with your blog and certainly all your talent.
Thanks for posting this! I made it this weekend with some last-leg strawberries for a 4th of July BBQ and everyone loved it. I made a strawberry-mint whipped topping to go with it. Happy summer!
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I am gonna try it this Sunday. Having chef/lawyer for a summer BBQ as well as my nephew. He is always cooking for us. Now it is our turn. Need 2 come up with something more than Costco. I may be calling you if I crash and burn!! I am hoping for pure success!! XX
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OH my god! To me, strawberry cake is the epitome of summer. 🙂 Thanks for posting this!!
http://simplysweetboston.blogspot.com/
That strawberry cake looks amazing. Ahh, New York. I’ve gone there a couple times with my family, but I can never convince them to stop for food unless they’re actually hungry (haha)
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Really simple, thanks! My mom had gotten some strawberries that I POUNCED ON immediately to make a swift cake.