Fruit season is fast approaching, and having just run out of my frozen berries, it’s just in time. Strawberries are hitting the markets and it inspired me to make this dessert.
One of the more popular ways to use strawberries for a light dessert is to make something like a compote or a simple strawberry mash, and serve it over angel food cake. I don’t mind it, but my partner thinks it’s too simple and boring, so I looked for something a little more complex.
Enter the spoon cake. A spoon cake is a soft, moist, fall-apart cake with fruit mashed and infused into it. People describe it as a cross between a cake and a British-style pudding. To me, it’s just strawberries and pound cake leveled up.
You don’t really need anything special to make this cake except maybe the right kind of cake pan. The portions below are perfect for an 8-inch cake pan; you may need to adjust your baking time if you go with something smaller or larger.
One brilliant bonus to this cake recipe is the way the fruit is mashed and bakes into the cake. Not only does it infuse the soft, delectable cake, it also allows some of the juice to seep to the edges and caramelize, sort of like how the pineapple juice does for a pineapple upside-down cake. It adds a bit of complexity to the finished product.
The name “spoon cake” is right, by the way; you really do need a spoon to eat and enjoy it. It very much does not hold together into nice slices like a normal cake would, so be prepared to dig in.
Strawberry Spoon Cake
Equipment
- 8" Cake Pan I like springform pans
- Mixing Bowls
- Potato Masher
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 Stick Butter Melted
- 1 Cup Strawberries Lightly chopped
- ⅔ Cup Brown Sugar
- ½ Cup Buttermilk Warmed to room temperature
- 1 Cup Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉. Grease your cake pan.
- In a mixing bowl, mash your strawberries. Mix a half of the brown sugar with them and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the butter and remaining brown sugar, then add and mix in the buttermilk. Once this is well mixed, add in the flour and baking powder, and mix further until you have a smooth batter.
- Pour this batter into your cake pan and spread it into an even layer. Spoon your strawberry mixture over the top. Don't worry about it looking pretty!
- Bake your cake for 35-40 minutes. You can use the toothpick test to check if it's done, but be careful to avoid the strawberries since you want to test the batter.
- Let the cake rest for a few minutes before extracting and enjoying. Top with ice cream or whipped cream, or your choice of anything else that sounds good!