One of the upsides of aging strawberries is that they can find new life in the oven. Between shortcake and summer cake (both of which will appear on this blog at some point), I love me a sugared strawberry. I was feeling a little messier today though, and I decided to try my hand at a spoon cake. As far as I can tell, this is pretty much the same as a cobbler. It’s softer than a typical cake, and you serve and consume it with a spoon.
Yield: one 9×9 inch square cake
Ingredients / Brands Tested
- 8 tbsp. unsalted butter
Kiosko Mantequilla sin sal - 1 heaping cup of strawberries, sliced
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
Supermaxi brand - 1/2 cup milk
La Lechera Leche Semi-Descremada - 1 cup all-purpose flour
Harina Buena y Barata Harina de trigo fortificada para todo uso Especial Para Panadería y Pastelería - 2 tbsp. cornmeal
Supermaxi brand – harina de maíz - 3/4 tsp. baking powder
La Reposterita/Levapan Polvo para Hornear - 1/2 tsp. table salt
Cris-Sal Sal de Mesa
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Place the butter in a 9-inch square baking pan and set it in the oven to melt (approx. 6-8 minutes).
Remove the pan from the oven and set aside briefly to cool. Either tip the pan gently to coat the sides with butter or use a pastry brush (which seemed safer to me)!
Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Mash the strawberries with a fork and toss them with half the sugar (i.e., 1/3 cup).
In a small bowl, mix the milk and the remaining sugar (1/3 cup).
Add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Don’t add the strawberries yet.
Spoon the batter carefully into the baking pan with the melted butter and spread it out as best you can. There will be some separation between the batter and the butter, and that’s fine.
Finally, spoon the strawberries and all their juices onto the top of the batter and try to distribute as evenly as you can.
Bake for 35 minutes. A cake tester inserted in the center should come out with just a few crumbs.
Cool for 30 minutes, and then serve up by itself, with whipped cream, or with vanilla ice cream.
In my opinion, this cake is best enjoyed on the day of baking. However, it can be stored in an airtight container for up to another 24 hours.
Altura Bakes 