OK. So I had cake for breakfast. Strawberry Snacking Cake, actually.
My customary breakfast of oatmeal and flax seeds was getting old. And…why shouldn’t I have cake for breakfast? Aren’t muffins cake? (I rest my case.)
In any event, I’ve always subscribed to this bit of wisdom: “Always keep a fork in your purse in case cake happens.”
This recipe is adapted from one featured in Yossy Arefi’s great little cookbook, Snacking Cakes. Arefi’s photography and recipes have been featured in The New York Times, Bon Appetit and on Epicurious. She is the author of another great cookbook, Sweeter Off The Vine: Fruit Desserts for Every Season. The recipes in this cookbook feed your need for a quick cake fix. The book presents fifty “everyday” cake recipes that can be made with readily-accessible ingredients and in one bowl. What’s not to love about that? Give me cake and no messy kitchen any day.
Strawberry Vanilla Snacking Cake
Ingredients
- For The Cake
- 3/4 C. granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 C. buttermilk (well shaken--I used lowfat)
- 1/4 C. unsalted butter (melted)
- 1/4 C. neutral oil (I used grapeseed)
- 2 t. vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- 1/2 t. kosher salt
- 1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- Fresh strawberries for garnish (optional)
- For The Strawberry Frosting
- 1 C. powdered sugar
- 1/4 C. unsalted butter (very soft)
- 1 T. milk (or more as needed)
- 2 t. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 1 t. lemon juice
- 1/4 C. freeze-dried strawberries (crushed)
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and prepare a 8-inch square baking pan by buttering it and lining the pan with parchment paper. When you cut the parchment paper for the pan, cut the paper large enough that you have an overhang of paper on two of the sides of the pan. Use those overhangs as handles when you remove the cake from the pan. This is a tender cake and using the handles (and only removing the cake from the pan when it is totally cooled) will keep the cake from breaking.
- Step 2 To prepare the cake batter, whisk the sugar and egg by hand or in your mixer until the ingredients are pale and foamy. This will take about 1 minute if you are using a mechanical mixer and a little longer if you are doing this by hand. Add buttermilk, butter, oil, vanilla and salt to the batter, whisking until the batter is smooth and all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Step 3 Whisk the flour, baking powder and baking soda into the batter until you have a smooth mixture.
- Step 4 Pour the batter into your prepared pan and use an offset spatula to smooth the batter into the edges of the pan.
- Step 5 Bake cake for 30 to 40 minutes. When baked, your cake should be a light golden brown on the top and should be slightly puffed up. Check the doneness of your cake with a toothpick or wooden skewer. You should not see any significant amount of crumbs on the skewer when it is inserted into the middle of the cake. Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest (and cool) on a rack for about 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
- Step 6 To prepare the frosting, combine the powdered sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, lemon juice and salt in a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer. Whisk the mixture to incorporate all the ingredients, adding a bit more milk if necessary. Once all the ingredients are mixed and moistened, turn up the speed of your mixer to medium high and whip the frosting until it is light and fluffy. This will take about 2 minutes. Again, you can add more milk to the frosting at this point if it is too dry. Stir in the crushed freeze-dried strawberries. Once your cake is totally cooled, frost your cake.
- Step 7 Once your cake is frosted, you can decorate your cake with some sliced fresh strawberries. This is optional. The cake is very good either plain or garnished. The crushed freeze-dried strawberries give the frosting a nice strawberry flavor and leaving a little texture in the strawberries when you crush them gives the frosting an attractive appearance and a good mouth feel. If you do use fresh strawberries on the cake, don’t put them on until just before your serve the cake to avoid having the liquid from the strawberries weep into your frosting and cake.
This recipe is adapted from Yossy Arefi’s book Snacking Cakes. The book is available through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
