Love and Olive Oil

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake with Preserved Whole Strawberries

Guess what? I have another something special for you. I’d like to welcome a very special guest, miss Maggie Battista of Eat Boutique. Yes, that Eat Boutique, the fabulous blog and purveyor of our favorite foodie gift boxes, sharing a delicious summer dessert recipe!

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake with Preserved Whole Strawberries

This happens to be a short story of two yeses, two recipes and a giveaway.

Let’s start with the yeses. I’ve only known Lindsay since the start of this year, but I feel like she’s a sweet, forever friend. We’ve built up our friendship over the course of two giveaways. Lindsay’s a big supporter of my blog, Eat Boutique, where we share recipes and guides, spotlight food makers and sell homespun gift boxes. (Thanks, Lindsay!)

Preserved Whole Strawberries

When I told Lindsay about Eat Boutique’s summer gift box, a crafty box packed with food fit for a summer picnic, she said, “yes” to a summer box giveaway. (Don’t you just love a giveaway?) And when she asked me to write the blog post, I couldn’t help but get excited and say “yes” – though, of course, secretly stressing about what I might share with you all.

Preserved Whole Strawberries

While I’ve been a food blogger for four years, baking for this crowd is a bit scary; you’re all such great bakers! More so than baking, I love preserving. I’ve found my passion in homemade jams, vinegars, syrups and sweet cordials with whatever is in season. Our strawberry season is coming to a close in New England, but I managed to preserve several quarts, including this easy recipe for preserved whole strawberries.

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake with Preserved Whole Strawberries

Since we’re not preserving these strawberries to take us through to next year, the preparation is really easy. And let’s be realistic, local strawberries don’t last more than a few weeks in my house, whether freshly picked or preserved; they’re just too delicious.

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake with Preserved Whole Strawberries

Keep in mind: You could add spices, like an adobe chile during cooking, or even liquor, like a few splashes of Campari just after the cooking, to the strawberries for some added flavor. (My oh my, Campari-flavored preserved strawberries make for a great Americano cocktail!) But I kept it simple, as this strawberry buttermilk cake doesn’t need much to shine. Maybe just a touch of homemade whipped cream. And while the cake is perfect at room temperature, I actually loved the “ice box” nature of chilling it in the fridge for a bit before serving.

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake with Preserved Whole Strawberries

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Ingredients:

For cake:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 handful fresh strawberries
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon sugar (If you don’t have lemon sugar on hand, there’s a nice version in the Eat Boutique gift box, or just use plain sugar)

For preserved strawberries:

  • 1 pound cleaned and hulled strawberries, but kept whole
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 a lemon, juiced

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour an 8-inch spring form cake pan or a 9-inch regular metal cake pan. If using a spring form cake pan, cut a round piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and place in the pan. (I got lazy and just placed a large sheet of parchment paper on the base and placed the spring form side right on top snugly.)
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla and zest. Add the egg and beat well.
  3. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Spoon batter into prepared cake pan, smoothing out the top. Scatter strawberries evenly over top, loading in as many as you would like. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the lemon sugar.
  4. Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the spring form or invert from your pan, and cool. Some prefer to serve this cake warm with a bit of vanilla ice cream. I opted to put mine in the fridge and serve it with freshly made whipped cream and preserved strawberries.
  5. To make the preserved strawberries, place the strawberries in a heavy, medium-size pot with the sugar and the lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat – as the fruit begins to juice, the sugar will melt. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, skimming off the foam, if you’d like. Stir it every 10 minutes or so – do so gently because you want the strawberries to stay intact. The strawberries are done when they’ve shrunken and the syrup has thickened a bit. Serve drizzled on top of the slices of the buttermilk cake and store any leftovers in the fridge for two to three weeks.

These recipes were adapted from Amanda Hesser’s Preserved Strawberries with Chiles on Food 52, and Melissa Robert’s Raspberry Buttermilk Cake featured in Gourmet in June 2009.

All images and text © / Love & Olive Oil

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341 Comments

  1. bacon-fat roasted peanuts? um, YES PLEASE!!! kristinmik at gmail

  2. i already “like” you on fb! kristinmik at gmail

  3. liked your page through my food blog facebook page Order in the Kitchen

  4. liked your page from my personal facebook Lynn Lovejoy!

  5. s’more marshmallows!!! no question for me! :)

  6. Bacon fat roasted Old Bay peanuts, everything’s better with bacon

  7. It all looks delicious, but I love to try new bbq sauces. The brownies sound devine too. Yum!

  8. And I’m a fan on the Facebooks (Karen F.)! :)

  9. I’d devour the peanuts first. If I could keep them away from my husband, the Old Bay fiend, long enough to do so.

  10. You had me at “brownie”!

  11. oh wow! Old Salties, bacon-fat roasted, Old-Bay peanuts!

  12. I’d most be intersted in the syrup and would figure out a way to use it while I was gobbling up the brownie

  13. Brownies!! Yum,

  14. I like you on Facebook.

  15. The brownies for sure!!!

  16. With a sell like that, I can’t wait to try the brownie! Sounds great.

  17. I HAVE to try the Lime & Hibiscus Syrup!!! It would be wonderful in a sparkling drink or over tequila pancakes. :) Yum!

  18. mmm brownie :) though the citrus sugar sounds really tasty too!

  19. I am a facebook fan :)
    Nissa G.

  20. definitely the sweet beets!

  21. I am a chocolate addict, so I would LOVE to try the brownie!

  22. I think the citrus sugars would be really interesting to try.

  23. It’s gotta be the bacon fat roasted Old Bay peanuts.

  24. I would so love to try the smores marshmallow – what a great box! That cake looks amazing too. :)

  25. S’mores are probably my favorite food (if they can be classified as such) so I would LOVE to try the s’mores marshmallows for sure!

  26. The bacon-roasted Old Bay peanuts! And I’m a sucker for brownies…

  27. I like Love and Olive Oil on Facebook as well.

  28. I’d love to try the s’mores marshmallows! I love s’mores, but haven’t had them for way too long! I’m curious about the various sugars, but am unsure to how I’d use them.

  29. MARSHMALLOWS!……so yah, the s’mores!

  30. I’m most intrigued by the trio of citrus sugars – I’ve heard of vanilla sugar of course, but lemon sugar? I would love to be able to taste these and find out how they’re made.

  31. Personally, I’d like a Square One brownie topped with a S’mores Marshmallow, popped under the broiler until toasty and melty. Then, I’d garnish it with some Old Salties. Yup, that sounds about right :)

  32. Citrus sugar sounds amazing.

  33. I follow on Facebook!

  34. Those bacon fat roasted peanuts sound amazing!

  35. for me it’s easy, the brownie! but everything looks amazing!

  36. I follow Love & Olive Oil on Facebook.

  37. The bacon fat roasted Old Bay peanuts sound wonderful…..bacon makes everything better!

  38. I stopped perusing after I hit the Old Salties. Ridiculous! One day, they will be mine!

  39. i want to try the lime and hibiscus syrup! sounds interesting to put onto things

  40. yum! it all sounds heavenly, but i’m dying to try the Old Salties, bacon-fat roasted, Old-Bay peanuts

  41. ooh, the lime and hibiscus syrup would be amazing in a cocktail, or even with a glass of sparkling water! yes, please!

  42. I like you on FB.

  43. The brownie!

  44. Love the pickles!! ;) Check out my walnut-coconut crusted tilapia with pineapple salsa! :)

    http://www.MrsCapretta.com
    Recipes Fashion Marriage

  45. The bacon fat roasted Old Bay Peanuts. They sound delicious.

  46. The pickles for sure….lately, I’ve been on a pickle kick :-)

  47. The sweet beets – I am enthralledbwith preserved beets!

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