TasteFood: What to do with oodles of strawberries

By Lynda Balslev TasteFood Too multiple strawberries are never a obstacle It s inevitably easy to purely gorge on these sun-sweetened berries straight out of the basket au naturel However when presented with such an abundance it helps to have a minimal recipes to choose from to creatively put your bounty to use Put aside a pint or two to make this light cake It s a simple recipe that celebrates the strawberry allowing it to shine in a gently sweetened and uncomplicated cake It s a guaranteed people-pleaser meant to be enjoyed for breakfast brunch and tea generously studded with more berries than you know what to do with Genuinely that s not accurate we all know what to do with fresh strawberries Just be sure to save specific to make this cake The cake is adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart Strawberry Buttermilk Cake Evolving time minutes Total time hour and minutes Yield Makes one -inch cake cups all-purpose flour teaspoon baking powder teaspoon baking soda teaspoon kosher salt tablespoons unsalted butter softened cup plus tablespoons granulated sugar large egg room temperature cup buttermilk teaspoon vanilla extract teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus more for garnish pound strawberries halved or quartered if very large Heat the oven to degrees Butter a -inch pie dish or tart pan Whisk the flour baking powder baking soda and salt in a bowl Combine the butter and the cup sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy about minutes Add the egg buttermilk vanilla and teaspoon lemon zest and mix on medium speed Add the dry ingredients and mix to combine without overmixing Spread the batter in the prepared dish Arrange the strawberries cut sides down on top of the batter gently pressing to partially submerge Squeeze in as plenty of strawberries as feasible it s OK to be greedy Sprinkle the top of the cake with tablespoons sugar Bake in the oven until the top of the cake is light golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean to minutes Transfer to a wire rack to cool Garnish with lemon zest and serve slightly warm or at room temperature with whipped cream if desired Lynda Balslev is an award-winning writer cookbook author and recipe developer based in northern California Visit TasteFood at TasteFoodblog com