Strawberry Butter Cake

Butter cake probably made my childhood (anyone’s hands going up here?). I absolutely used to looovveee Sara Lee’s cakes - both the chocolate and the marble one. I had it every other day after school with a cup of hot milo and it was something I really looked forward to - I sound like a loser but yea I guess the love for food starts young hehe.

It was a particular rainy afternoon and an off-day from work when I started craving for those pockets of childhood that seemed really far away. There was a grocery store just approx 5 minutes drive from my house where I remember they stocked those Sara Lee cakes, but given the storm and the fact that my car was undergoing servicing, I was just being reeeaaallllyyy lazy. But my gut would not rest until I had my butter cake and that was how this recipe came about.

The funny thing was that the reason why I added strawberries was because the ones in my fridge seemed to be getting soft around the edges (i.e. gotta eat them real soon!!). But it’s these kind of decisions that make a huge difference and I’ll never go back to plain butter cake again.

I’ve talking as though I’ve found a cure for cancer, but in actual fact it’s just strawberry butter cake. Oh god someone help me please.

I had my first slice of this beauty with a coffee (yea we’ve graduated from milo). My second slice was warmed up with vanilla ice cream, as a post-dinner dessert. I can’t decide which i preferred more.

Strawberry Butter Cake

(Makes a 9-inch cake)

*I used a springform pan for this. However if you’re using a normal cake tin/pan, butter the pan really well, or line with parchment paper!

Ingredients

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

125g butter (unsalted), softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

A sprinkle salt

Approx 15-20 strawberries, halved

1 teaspoon granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C and butter cake pan/baking dish or springform pan

2. In a bowl, cream together the sugar, butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and 2 eggs (1 at a time) and mix until well combined

3. Add in the dry ingredients - flour and baking powder - until just combined. Note that it’s supposed to be thick because we want a dense butter cake, so don’t worry!

4. Fold the batter onto the baking dish/springform pan and smoothen out the batter with the back of a spoon until it is uniform across the dish

5. Place the strawberry halves in a circular concentric pattern on the batter. There is no need to press the strawberries down into the batter as they will naturally sink down slightly during the baking process. Make sure the strawberries are placed close to each other as well

6. Sprinkle the top of the cake with 1 tablespoon of sugar, fresh lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder. This will give you the nice crusty brown top for a wonderful bite and texture to the cale

7. Bake for approx 45-50 minutes and test the centre of the cake with a toothpick. It is ready once the toothpick comes out clean

8. Let it cool for approx 20 minutes before removing the cake from the pan

9. Eat it all. With ice cream/chocolate sauce/coffee/or even plain. You deserve it. The dishes can wait (not that there’s much to do - it’s practically a 1 bowl recipe YAYYYEE)