Strawberry Cake

A food blog. I must try. Start. We'll see?! I LOVE to bake, but have realized after doing this ONE blog entry that it takes a bit more work than I thought - taking photos, remembering what I did in the recipe, etc. Seems easy, right? Well, juggling a baby in one hand, camera, spoon, and everything else in the other - not so easy, my friends. Okay, so I don't always carry her around with me, but . . . you get my drift.

Yesterday I decided to take on the world, well, the kitchen. After reading my Google Reader , I decided to start with Strawberry Cake and print out a Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, as well. One can wish, right?

Well, my wish was granted.

Baby went down for a nap reluctantly and I headed to my oasis and made recipe number one. Very easy and yummy results. I would definitely say to squeeze as many strawberries on top as you can. Don't forget that as the cake is rising, the strawberries will separate more. Also, don't push them down into the cake batter as, like I said before, the cake will rise and gently encompass the yummy strawberries. And lastly, I think this cake that has the directions of putting in a "pie pan" could easily go into another dish - square, rectangular, etc.

Strawberry Cake
Martha Stewart

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pie plate
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
2 tablespoons raw or sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.

Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Transfer batter to buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible. Sprinkle raw/sanding sugar over berries.

Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Let cool in pie plate on a wire rack. Cut into wedges. Cake can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, up to 2 days.














Then, if you could believe it, I decided to make MORE. That's right, with fruity, one has to have chocolatey, too. Stay tuned for Thick and Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies.