SUMMER. STRAWBERRIES. FOOD. BAKING. EXCITED NOISES. Yeah, I wanted to do something a little different to last summer’s Strawberry and Cream cupcakes but still strawberry based. So I spent some time looking around this here internet thing (i.e. I did a few googles) and all I was coming across was “such and such topped with strawberries and cream” or “tort with strawberries” and the like. It wasn’t really what I wanted. Until I came across a recipe on the waitrose website, that’s right, waitrose. It of course is “use all of our own brand things to make this cake”, so I went to Tesco, or Asda, or whichever supermarket it was and got all the ingredients cheaper. I’m poor, sorry. Anyway, the recipe is for a Strawberry Drizzle cake. Something, which even when I had decided to make it I was still unsure would work. Strawberry drizzle to me, sounded like it would either be glorious or a bit mushy and odd.
Fortunately it was glorious.
The cake is wonderfully light, so perfect for the summer, doesn’t use too much sugar and is loaded with strawberries. So it’s healthy, right? (I say this as I am half way through eating the second one in two weeks). Pressing the juice out of the strawberries may make the cake look like it’s soggy at first impression but it’s far from it. Staying moist for a couple of days (it does need to be fridged though, and yeah I know you shouldn’t fridge cake).
Also, I booked my flights to Chicago today to go to RiotFest in Chicago in September. Can’t wait. Can anyone recommend some stuff to do while I’m there? My current plans involve getting fat(ter), drinking a lot and maybe a tattoo.
- 100g Salted Butter, at room temperature
- 200g Golden Granulated Sugar, plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling
- 1 large Egg
- 120ml Milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200g Self-raising Flour
- 400g Strawberries, halved
- 50g icing sugar
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC(160ºC fan oven) and grease and line a 23cm cake tin.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and the milk. Beating until well combined. Add the vanilla then the flour, beating until well combined and there are no lumps.
- Spoon into the prepared tin, shaking slightly to make sure it’s even.
- Set 6 of the strawberries aside (these will be used for their juices later) and position the remaining halves, cut side down, on top of the cake. Sprinkle some golden granulated sugar on top of the strawberries afterwards.
- Place in the middle of the preheated oven and bake for 50-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean.
- Meanwhile, cover the strawberries you set aside with 1tbps of the icing sugar, and leave for around 15 minutes.
- Press this through a fine sieve into a bowl to get the juices out. Combine 1tbps of the juices with the remaining icing sugar, whisking until they are combined and leave to thicken.
- Once the cake has been removed, allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack.
- Drizzle the juice mix over the top of the cake.