Whole Wheat Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

I've spent the past several weeks craving hearty, wholesome things. Bowls of creamy risotto made with farro instead of rice. Quinoa tossed with sautéed mushrooms, herbs, and handfuls of crumbled feta. Nearly too-ripe bananas whipped with honey, peanut butter, and thick creamline milk. It's summer and it's hot, but my appetite has been veering towards that of a farmgirl in autumn.

Coupled with an insatiable urge to bake, I came up with this cake: Whole wheat flour and flax for that nubby, nutty taste. Buttermilk because it had to be used (isn’t that always the case with buttermilk?). Fresh strawberries sliced in half for big generous bites. Peach jam instead of sugar (because I'd mostly run out), but for texture, a sprinkle of sweet turbinado crystals (from a packet I found crumbled at the bottom of my purse).

The cake baked up perky and brown, with little bits of strawberry juice bubbling just around each bite of fruit. I set it to cool on a rack by an open window and after a while it sighed and relaxed into itself just a bit. I quickly took a photo and then cut myself a slice as I could wait no longer. The first bite was heavenly...still hot and pudding-like. I ate it quickly and helped myself to another.


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Whole Wheat Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I love the Whole Foods whole wheat pastry flour that’s light and soft)
2 tablespoons ground flax (optional)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup peach or apricot preserves
1 stick butter
1 (generous) teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup whole buttermilk

1 pint strawberries, washed, stemmed, and cut in half

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (“sugar in the raw”)


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour a 9” springform pan.

In a large bowl, sift together the whole wheat flour, flax, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set this aside.

In the base of your mixer (if you have one) beat the butter and preserves until well combined. Add the vanilla and the egg and beat in. Add the buttermilk and then the flour, until it’s all just combined.

Pour the batter into your baking tin and then drop the strawberry halves in all over the cake. It’s OK if they fall on top of each other...some of them are bound to sink in. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar all over the top and then put the whole thing in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out dry.

Let cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes then release the sides and take out the cake. Let cool (as much as you can) before enjoying.

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5 Sweet (and Healthy!) Strawberry Recipe Ideas for Summer

The unofficial start of summer is just around the corner, and strawberries are more delicious than ever. Here are five of my favorite healthy strawberry recipe ideas for spotlighting these bright summer gems.

(Scroll down for the recipe links.)

1. Strawberry Basil Yogurt Cake

2. Strawberry Thyme Limeade

3. Whole Wheat Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

4. Strawberry Brown Sugar Compote

6. Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcake with Basil Strawberries

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading! 

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Mini Mixed-Berry Cakes

I recently got an email from a reader wondering when I was going to post the recipe for the Mini Mixed Berry Cakes I mentioned in the Summer Sips & Sweets Party I wrote about...oh...weeeeeks ago.

I had my lovely intern quickly send her the recipe, but figured it was also high time I post it here.

This is a great recipe to have on hand for summer. It's quick and one-bowl-ish, and works well with just about any kind of fruit--perfect these days when the fruit is plentiful and possibly even excessive like it is in my home. (I get carried away with the pretty colors.)

The original recipe actually comes from Bon Appetit magazine, where they made it in regular muffin tins studded with ripe apricots.

I skipped the apricots because while I love dried apricots and apricot jam, as a fruit it does little to excite me. Too sweet with a blah-di-blah texture.

I prefer my summer fruits bright and tart and juicy--all the better to dip in sugar or douse with cream.

So I swapped in berries!

A big ol' mix of them--blueberries and raspberries and strawberries cut into perfect little wedges. Heaped into a subtle, lemon-scented batter and topped with a sprinkle of crunchy sugar, they are just the thing to serve at a summer picnic or to bring over to a friend's bbq.

And when the too-much fruit you bought is starting to ripen quicker than you can eat it, you can make up a big batch to share with friends at work.

(Because tiny cakes are always way more exciting than a basket of past-their-prime berries.)

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Loved this Mini Mixed Berry Cakes Recipe? Here are three other berry cake recipes you might like: 

• Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake
• Whole Wheat Strawberry Cake
• Blueberry Almond Buttermilk Cake

And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading!

Mini Mixed Berry Cakes
Adapted from the Little Apricot Cakes in Bon Appetit Magazine

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
Zest & juice of 1 large lemon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups mixed berries (if using strawberries, quarter and hull)
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (such as "Sugar in the Raw")


Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 6-well giant muffin pan (or use a standard 12-cup muffin pan). Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
In the base of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.

Lower the speed of the mixer, and gently sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt, followed by the milk. Let mix until ingredients are completely incorporated.

Fill each muffin cup about 1/3 full, then top with a few generous spoonfuls of the mixed berries. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake until cakes are golden brown, about 20–25 minutes. Cool cakes in pan about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

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