They’re everywhere I tell you!!! I’m talking about those luscious, plump and rosy morsels of goodness – strawberries of course! I can’t resist them and often buy them to try out in a new recipe but end up using them in a smoothie.  Ripe strawberries wait for no one and will lose their luster and shape – much like my waistline over the years! This is a modified recipe from the NYTimes Cooking site. I’m calling it a Strawberry Sour Cream Everyday Cake. So good! 

The original recipe called for a puree of the strawberries, but I wanted strawberry chunks to taste in this cake, so no puree, but same ingredients, no blender, just chopped roughly. The cake recipe itself, no changes to it with the exception of my citrus sugar – which is a blend of so many different types of citrus – lemon, lime, orange, blood orange – all in all, it gives an excellent flavor for any baked good.

You will find the cake batter thick and quite hard to spread.  It is not so bad with the first layer really, but with the top layer, almost impossible. But I often use this technique with batters like this – oh poopoo if you will, but it works. Wet your impeccably clean hands, shake off the excess water and grab a handful of dough. Working quickly, spread the batter in your palm as big as you can get it and gently place it on top of the strawberry filling – repeat until you have it covered – don’t sweat if you don’t have every inch covered, it is batter and will spread. You still have to add the final layer on top and for this, I use a teaspoon and a little of the topping and gently slide it off. Again, don’t panic if the entire surface of the cake isn’t “crumbled”, it will spread.  I say crumbled but really the instructions below are not for a crumble but this method yields a delicious top layer.  Crispy top, soft middle, berry delicious lower and cakey bottom – that’s four levels of pleasure in every bite!

If you want a crumble topping, you can easily make it by mixing 1/2 cup of the crumbly butter/flour mix with the sugar and sprinkling it on top of the final cake layer.  Crumble has never been a favorite texture of mine, so instead I mixed the sugar with the wet batter so I needed to use a teaspoon to drop dollops on top of the cake. The batter spreads as it bakes and gives an amazingly delicious crunch with every bite. Plus, dotted with a delightful blackberry jam and well – nuff said!  Honestly, fresh strawberries (or any other kind of berry), butter, sugar – could it taste bad???   Absolutely not! So do try this recipe, allow it to cool if you care about clean slices. Otherwise dig in while still warm with freshly whipped cream, some ice cream or on its own. Continue to wash your hands, wear a mask, get vaccinated (yup, we just got our second doses 🙂 ) and above all, be safe. The light is growing brighter so don’t let it burn out. I need a hug!! As always – enjoy!

Strawberry filling
8 ounces strawberries
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Cake
¾ cup citrus sugar or plain sugar
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coarse sugar 

Roughly chop the strawberries (did you know you can eat the green tops of strawberries?) Remove the green tops if they don’t look perfect, leave them on if they do, they add a tartness that complements the sweetness of the strawberries
Add the cornstarch and vanilla and stir – set aside. If the berries aren’t sweet, add 1 tsp of citrus sugar or plain sugar and stir
Heat the oven to 350f and butter or spray a 9” cake pan – if you are using a spring form, no need to line it, if you are using a square tin, line it with parchment leaving an overhang – just makes taking it out so much nicer
In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and baking soda 
Add the cubed butter and using your impeccably clean hands or a pastry cutter, mix until you get a crumbly texture – if you like a crumble topping, remove ½ cup, add the 2 tsps sugar and mix – set aside
If you want a crispy top cake layer, don’t remove any yet
To another bowl, mix the sour cream, egg and vanilla
Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well – remove ½ cup of the batter add the coarse sugar and set side
Divide the remaining batter into 2/3 and 1/3 approximately
Spread the 2/3 portion over the bottom – spread it out using damp impeccably clean hands or the back of the spoon rubbed with a little butter or oil
When smooth, spread the strawberry filling on top making sure you have chunks of strawberry and juice all over the layer, but don’t allow it to seep onto the sides as it will make the cake difficult to remove from the tin (or live dangerously and do it)
Spread the remaining 1/3, as best you can, over the strawberries (see my notes in the preamble to the recipe)
Once smooth, take the remaining 1/2 cup batter with the sugar and dot the surface as best as you can – remember it will spread as it bakes, optional but so delicious – dot with a berry jam – if using the crumble, scatter evenly over the top, then dot with berry jam
Bake for 40 – 50 minutes – my 9” square tin took 45 minutes, test with a toothpick
Cool completely before pulling out of the pan,

Suggestions and/or changes
I like baking in square tins as I can easily cut into smaller squares
Use any berries you like, even ripe fruit like peaches or plums will work
Rhubarb would make an amazing “add” in or “instead” of taste
Crumble toppings are not my favorite texture, that’s why I made a sweeter batter instead of a crumble
Grilled fruit would also be delicious in this – pineapple, peaches etc.
Remember recipes are guides, not rules – sometimes even in baking