Strawberries and Sunshine

The weather is glorious. GLORIOUS! It feels like early summer-glorious-ness. And that means it's strawberry time!

Strawberries are everywhere in supermarkets and fresh food markets and greengrocers right now. I think the hardest part of baking with strawberries is shopping for the beautiful red fruit to begin with. Finding all-red berries, not half-white and half-red, and hoping for great flavour can be quite the challenge. I would love to sneak a berry, checking for authentic strawberry flavor instead of great texture and no flavour, but the idea of hiding the evidence of a little green leafed cap in my hand while I casually walk around the store, looking for a proper place to dispose of the little cap, is just not worth it. I will continue my quest of tipping the punnets upside down and sideways to make sure I have the best set of strawberries that I can possibly get. I refuse to dwell on the fact that all the strawberry packages start looking alike after a while.
I have found a great vendor at Jan Powers Farmer's Markets at New Farm, who sells strawberries by the kilo, instead of by the punnet, which means that you get to pick your own little ruby gems. 

I have been given a much-loved, handwritten recipe for a Vanilla and Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting. The paper is worn silky smooth by three generations of women pressing the creases out as they prepare this summer classic. The frosting is smooth, creamy, lightly pink, and very tasty! The cake is chock full of sliced strawberries and strawberry frosting as a filler. The vanilla cake is dense and absorbs the strawberry juice wonderfully. Nothing for it now but to follow with a glass or two of Pimms, and a spot of croquet in the afternoon sunshine.

(Is anyone else in love with vintage-style polaroids at the moment?)


 
250g washed, hulled Queensland strawberries quartered
1 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
with 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
250g softened butter (or 200g for less buttery)
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
Zest of 1 orange
 
Method:
Toss the strawberries in a little flour.
Cream the butter and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each is added.
Fold zest, dry ingredients and strawberries in 2 batches.
Bake in a 23cm cake tin which has the bottom lines, at 180 degrees for 50 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes before turning out on to a rack.
Slice in half, and spread with a third of the strawberry frosting.

Frosting: Puree 120g strawberries and 1 1/2 tablespoons icing sugar. Then fold in 300mls whipped cream. Spread betwen layers and over the cooled cake. Decorate with more strawberries. Serve on sunny afternoons to good friends.

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Posted by Katy Potaty CUPCAKE LADY at Tuesday, August 25, 2009 1:56 PM
Categories: recipes,local Brisbane finds,polaroids,buttercream,baking,frosting,strawberry
Tags: recipes polaroids baking
 

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