In summer, waking up in the morning to warm sunshine and a blue sky feels so good. But it feels even better when you know that there's a freshly baked strawberry cake waiting for you to eat it for breakfast. Well, I must correct myself: not only for breakfast, but all day long. Seriously, this cake is perfect at any time. Serve it with a spoonful of lightly sweetened plain greek yogurt on top and there you go - the most delicious summer dessert of all time!
Strawberry Summer Cake
batter
150gm butter or margarine, at room temperature
150gm white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch of ground nutmeg
a pinch of ground cinnamon
3 eggs
zest of 1 lemon (about 2 tsp)
280gm regular white flour
2 tsp baking powder
130gm plain yogurt or buttermilk
+ about 300gm of fresh fruits, cut in halves or pieces or slices - I was using 1 large nectarine cut in thin slices and about 20 large strawberries cut in halves. What kind of seasonal fruit you add totally depends on your taste. blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, pears, apricots, nectarines, kiwi, rhubarb - add anything you wish.
Preheat your oven to 200 C. Line a medium size round baking pan with baking paper but do not grease the sides of the pan. Place soft butter, sugar, lemon zest, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl and beat using a hand mixer on high speed until fluffy for about a minute. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. In another bowl sift together flour and baking powder and sieve it over the wet mixture, quickly beating it in. The batter should be very dry and sticky. Now add the yogurt or buttermilk and quickly beat it in as well making sure that everything is well incorporated. Now the batter should be extremely fluffy, light and smooth. Put the batter into the lined baking pan spreading it evenly. Arrange all the pieces or slices of fruit on top of the batter and lightly press them in. Now prepare the crumble mixture...
crumbles
30gm butter or margarine, at room temperature
30gm sugar
50gm regular white flour
a pinch of salt
Combine the ingredients for the crumbles in a bowl and beat using a hand mixer on low speed for about 10 seconds, just until the mixture is lumpy and crumbly, and arrange the crumbles on top of the cake onto the fruits. Put everything in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes until done and nicely golden. Let it cool completely and then remove the cake from the baking pan. Enjoy ...
