I gorge on strawberries when they are in season, and rarely eat them when they are not, which makes them a special seasonal treat. I eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, out of hand in in all sorts of treats. This rich and tender crumb cake is a fantastic way to add strawberries to breakfast, though in all honesty this could also be a dessert with a scoop of ice cream, or a nice afternoon snack. Yeah, basically it is just good. A simple cake with a swirl of strawberry puree, some lovely, diced berries and a pile of crunchy, sweet crumbly topping. What could be better?
Make the crumble ahead and let it chill in the fridge, you can do this while the oven is heating and you get on with the rest of the recipe. It’s not hard and doesn’t dirty too many dishes even though I know it has three steps. Buttermilk always makes for a tender, light crumb with a little bit of tang and if you measure it right in a measuring jug, adding the oil, eggs and vanilla, its one less dish to wash. Make sure you only mix the batter until there are no streaks of flour visible, folding from the bottom of the bowl. Don’t over mix or beat the batter. Spread enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan, then drizzle over the puree avoiding the sides – it will spread when you add the rest of the batter, gently spreading it out to cover as much of the strawberry as you can. I use 8 ounces of strawberries for this, which is one little green basket from the farmers market, but it you have a few more you can dice them and sprinkle on top. I love a thick layer of crumbs like this, and after the chill in the fridge, it should break into small pieces, with some looser bits. The pan will be pretty full, so I like to slide a piece of foil on the rack underneath in case there is a little spillover.
Ingredients
- For the Crumble
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
10 Tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- For the Filling
8 ounces hulled strawberries
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
- For the Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 Teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
Directions
- For the Crumble
- Put the flour, sugars and pecans in a small mixing bowl and toss together with a fork. Pour in the melted butter and use the fork to blend it together. I usually switch to my good clean hands to finish. You want everything completely combined, with the butter moistening all the ingredients. Put the crumble in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
- For the Filling
- Put 6 ounces of the hulled strawberries in a blender or small food processor with the brown sugar and blend until smooth. Dice the remaining strawberries (it may just be two or three) into small pieces and set aside.
- For the Cake
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick foil or parchment paper with an overhang for lifting the cake out when it is cooked. Spray with cooking spray.
- Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a medium mixing bowl until combined. In a 4-cup measuring jug or a small bowl, mix the buttermilk and oil together with a fork. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to completely combine. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir with a spatula to combine – just until there are no visible streaks of dry ingredients. Scrap a little more than half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out to cover the bottom. Drizzle the strawberry puree evenly over the top of the batter, but not too close to the sides of the pan. Dollop the remaining batter over the top and gently spread it out with the spatula or the back of a spoon, covering as much of the puree as you can. Sprinkle the diced strawberries evenly over the top. Take the crumble from the fridge and break it up into small pieces, scattering them in an even layer completely covering the top of the cake. Get all the way to the edges so no batter or puree is poking through. Gently press the crumble into the top of the cake.
- Place a sheet of foil on the shelf underneath where you will bake the cake to catch any overflow or drips, then slide the cake in and bake for 50 – 55 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the top of the crumble is golden brown. Look for a crack in the crumble to insert the tester so you get into the batter of the cake.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift the cake out to a wire rack using the overhanging foil to cool completely. Slice and serve.
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