Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Strawberry Lovin'

This is my submission for Rach's June Baking Challenge. The challenge for this month was strawberries! Yesterday was my birthday (yay!) and I was going to post my celebration dessert, but I didn't want to feel rushed in editing the photos and uploading the recipe so instead, I present you with Strawberry and Blueberry Cobbler Cake. I originally spotted this cake at The Kitchen Sink and was taken aback. It looked so lovely. Kristen said it tasted almost like a strawberry shortcake. I'm not a huge fan of shortcakes so I wasn't sure I wanted to make this but I'm glad I did.

I did have a minor problem when I made this. I doubled the recipe and put equal amounts into 2 pie plates. One for us and one for my neighbor- their son was graduating. Only I wanted to use my new-to-me Corning ware pie plate that I got from Goodwill for only $2.99! Only that's where my problem was. The recipe calls for a 10-inch pie plate and this one was significantly smaller so it overflowed in the oven and burned all over the place. It was a freakin' mess.

I immediately smelled the smoke and rushed into the kitchen. I pulled out both cakes- the Pyrex pie plate was just fine- thank God! I scraped the over-flowing lava-like cake batter off of the edge and took out about half a cup of batter. I cleaned the oven as best I could and popped them back into the oven to finish their baking with a sheet pan underneath them, just in case.

With 10 minutes left to go on my kitchen timer, I went to check on the cakes and the berries had completely sunk despite me flouring them :-( Bummer, I hate when that happens. So I added a few more blueberries to the top of the cake and popped them back in. When the timer beeped at me I went to check them and they looked perfect. Nothing like they should but, but perfect to me.

Oh my gawd, this was delicious! I didn't think my husband was going to like it, but he went back for seconds! We finished this cake off in a day and a half, it was that good. It didn't taste like a shortcake to me at all. It was definitely cakey, but very moist (maybe because I added more fruit) buttery, vanilla-y and very reminiscent to a cobbler, so I renamed it. Beside if I want strawberry cake, Ill make this one! Despite my many mishaps, I would definitely make this cake again (in my Pyrex pie plate, not my pretty Corning ware find) :-)

Strawberry and Blueberry Cobbler Cake adapted from 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 granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons raw sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
  • 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

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, buttermilk, 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 2 tablespoons raw or granulated 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.

NOTE: You can use all strawberries (1 pound) or a combination of berries that you prefer. Use enough to cover the top of the batter.

27 comments:

Haden News said...

I really love your blog.... everything you make looks so delicious!! I think this looks perfect for the 4th of July weekend. Thanks for all your inspiration:)

Donna-FFW said...

OK, on my way to get some strawberries.. this looks absolutely fantastic. It truly looks delicious!

Sophie said...

I love Goodwill! Awesome place to buy anything for the kitchen. Whenever I make berry anything it always overflows. The last pie I made (I didn't post it on my blog :P) turned completely blue! :D

Hope your birthday was a blast!

Heather S-G said...

It's beautiful!! Perfect summer cake :) I love Goodwill...or any thrift store for that matter...like a treasure hunt :)

Creative Classroom Core said...

Cobbler is cake form?!?! Love it!

Foodiewife said...

I can't wait to hear about your birthday. I thought of you. This cake looks similar to the Gourmet recipe I posted-- which was pretty fabulous, by the way. Great save on the fruit! Oven spills-- how I know the frustration. But, as always, you pulled it off.
PS: You still need to make strawberry balsamic jam... I'll help you!

Anonymous said...

That looks great!

Sorry my post wasn't up this morning, I set it to publish at 12:01 but it wasn't, I must have my blog set for the wrong timezone.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I saw this over at The Kitchen Sink and printed out the recipe, too!

Glad to know it was good. I have some (leftover)raspberries needing a home soon.

Sorry about the mishaps...good save!
~ingrid

The Nanny said...

Oh. My. God.

Yesterday was my dad's birthday too! We're celebrating tonight, so I really think I'll make this for him :)

Coleens Recipes said...

Another mouth watering photo...you have a real talent, not only for cooking/baking...but those photos just POP!!

Debbie said...

What a great looking cake! Love cakes with any kind of berry!

Sara said...

Sorry about the mess, I hate when that happens. This sure looks great though, and worth the mess :)

Smitten Sugar said...

yum this is amazing!

Kristen said...

mmm, this looks so wonderful - our local strawberries are finally in at the market, I'm thinking I'll have to make this this weekend :o)

Maria said...

What a colorful dessert. I love it!

Denise said...

This looks great and just in time for july 4th

Anonymous said...

That looks so good! and Happy Belated Birthday!!!

Stacey M.

Linda said...

Strawberries, blueberries, cobbler, shortcake - now this recipe is totally speaking to me! I can't waiting to try this, so thank you for sharing -- what a delicious looking treat.

Kerstin said...

Happy Birthday!! Can't wait to see your celebration cake :)

This cobbler cake looks SO delicious and it's beautiful! So perfect for this weekend too!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I made this last night, Monica. Everything went well. I actually used a smaller but deeper pie plate and I had no spillage. My only issue was my beautifully arranged strawberries SUNK! Like you couldn't even tell that they were there! :( Other than that it was great. The kids and one of their buddies (he spent the night) loved it.They all had two pieces. The sprinkling of raw sugar on top was the bomb. I loved how it made it kinda crunchy.

Oh, and your package is in route! FINALLY! :)
~ingrid

Annette said...

I made this cake today and it was awesome! A huge hit with my family...thank you for sharing the recipe!!!

Jill said...

I think I just found a new favorite cooking/baking site! Your recipes look DE-LISH! Can't wait to try them.

Anonymous said...

This looks absolutely delicious! But then again everything here does - I love your site! I'll have to try this one with some of my frozen berries I have stacked up for winter...

Memória said...

Wow, you have me curious about this cake. I may have to try this out pronto.

Anonymous said...

Hi Monica!!! I know I'm a little late--and I'm not quite sure if you'll ever read this, but thank you so much for posting this recipe! I am a teenager who loves baking and photography--just like you! This was one of the first recipes I had the guts to use my mom's Kitchen Aid Stand mixer, after one occasion where I poured flour in too quickly while it was mixing, and it went everywhere! Anyways, this looked too good to pass up because of my previous trepidation's, and my family and I adored it! I was thinking of substituting the blueberries and strawberries with peaches and raspberries, but the blue and red fruits went wonderfully for the Fourth of July. Thank you again!!!
Beth R. -- Massachusetts

Unknown said...

I want to make this cake for my son's 2nd birthday but I want to make it like a sheet cake and frost it - will that work for this kind of cake?

Monica H said...

This cake is super moist from all the fruit and really sweet enough without frosting. Maybe make them into cupcakes but don't sprinkle the tips with sugar before baking. Frost with frosting if choice

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