Fresh Strawberry Cake

A super simple cake made with one pound of fresh strawberries!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
3/4 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and halved.  I bought a pound container of large strawberries and had about 6 leftover.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9" deep dish pie pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, and beat on low speed until smooth.  (The batter will be thick).

Transfer the batter to the prepared pie pan and smooth with a spatula.  Arrange the strawberries on top, cut side down, so that they completely cover the batter.

Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the strawberries.  

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for 50 more minutes (1 hour total) until the cake is lightly golden and a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.