Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

strawberry-cake Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

Strawberry Season is almost coming to an end, and cherries are fast replacing the fresh produce in Farmer’s markets. So for a one last fling before the strawberries start disappearing, we tried this simple delicious and extremely moist Strawberry Buttermilk Cake which has a fresh fruity flavor to it. Adapted from an original recipe for Raspberry Buttermilk Cake, featured in the Gourmet Magazine, this is a versatile recipe for baking an Eggless Cake, and you can substitute the strawberries with any other seasonal berries that you like – raspberries, blueberries or goji berries would be great, I think.

There’s a reason you use Buttermilk in this recipe. Whenever you want a light and airy texture in a cake, more dense than spongy, but still moist, you might want to consider using buttermilk instead of milk (if your recipe calls for milk). Because buttermilk contains more acid than milk, remember to add 1/2 tsp. of baking soda for each cup of milk you use. Buttermilk is great for eggless baking, and it also balances the sugar in the cakes to produce richer, denser and more flavorful cakes.(Photo by whitneyinchicago) I’m sending this lovely cake to Stephfret, who’s asking for cozy Elevenses recipe treats. More details on her blog!

Buttermilk Recipe
You can use store-bought buttermilk – make sure it is not too sour. But if you cannot find it, you can always make your own Buttermilk at home.

Take 1 cup of milk and add 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice or vinegar to it. Let it stand for 5 minutes, and then stir well to get homemade buttermilk in minutes!

Easy Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

Ingredients
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 plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
** Use 1/2 cup buttermilk instead of the egg as an alternative
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh strawberries (about 5 oz)

Method
Preheat oven to 400°F, placing the rack in the middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and keep ready.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy; this should take about 3 minutes, then beat in the vanilla. Finally add the egg and beat well for another 2 minutes.

Switch the mixer setting to low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Remember, do NOT overbeat.

Fold in half of the strawberries into the batter. Spoon the prepared batter into the cake pan, smoothing it on the top. Scatter the remaining strawberries evenly over the top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, roughly about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Invert it onto a serving plate.

Using a knife warmed by placing under hot running water, slice the cake into wedges and serve. You can also make it fancier by topping it with a dollop of whipped cream, or dusting with some more Confectioner’s sugar.

Chef’s Notes: I am sure you will love this Strawberry Buttermilk Cake as it is. It is good enough to be enjoyed as a light snack with tea, or for a Sunday morning brunch. But if you want to make it fancy, you can throw in a bunch of walnuts or pecans to the batter, use Buttercream icing on the top, and decorate with some more fresh berries before you serve it to your guests.

For someone who has never used Buttermilk in baking before, its hard to imagine how it would taste. Going by the label, you’d think it would be sour, tangy, or taste “different”, right? Well, let me tell you is is a great asset for eggless baking, but even if you are all about using Eggs to make your cakes nice and fluffy, Buttermilk will give you the same results, if not better. It is great for making coffee-cakes, or simple upside-down cakes. It may not be a contender for gorgeous Birthday Cakes, but if you are craving a nice warm Homemade cake, something that you get in a Bed-and-Breakfast inn, then bookmark this Buttermilk Cake Recipe – you will love the way it turns out!

Related Recipes
Strawberry Cake with Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Upside Down Spiced Plum Cake
Ultimate Eggless Chocolate Cake


Comments

  1. Made this out of the blue a while ago. It was….

    Amazing. Fingers crossed the bf doesn’t eat it in one night and there’s some left for tomorrow.

  2. Nice one, Mansi!

  3. Buttermilk is awesome – I only started using it when I moved here to Austria where it's really popular – have you tried Orangette's buttermilk and oatmeal pancakes? Heaven. Your cake looks like a perfect everyday cake too, *love* everyday cake!

  4. That looks moist and delicious!! YUM!!
    Check out my blog 🙂 http://ajscookingsecrets.blogspot.com/

  5. This looks delicious- I love baking with buttermilk and especially like that this works with any berries you've got on hand- very versatile! I am hosting a roundup of great recipes for 'elevenses' on my blog and was wondering if you'd like to submit this cake? I'll post everyone's pictures and links on June 11th for a virtual tea party. Have a look here: http://www.buttermilkpartycake.com/2010/05/whats-for-elevenses-netties-date-and.html

  6. Hi Jaya – thanks so much for pointing that out! I have updated the ingredient part with the substitute for egg. Yes, you can just use 1/2 cup extra buttermilk (1 cup total for the recipe), for an eggless version.

    but just in case, I would add 3/4 cup buttermilk first, then see if the batter is not too thin; if not, u can add the extra 1/4 cup. Sometimes heat can cause the cake batter to rise even without high acidic content, so you might not need the entire 1 cup buttermilk.

    Hope this helps:) let me know how it turns out!

  7. This is a great recipe not only because I was looking for a strawberry cake recipe but also because I would have never figured out the mil-lemon juice equation to get buttermilk. I just blend regular yogurt and I am not sure if that would have worked for this cake recipe.
    One question: you write that this was eggless but the ingredients call for an egg. Do I substitute something else for the egg or just increase the amt of buttermilk?

  8. looks really spongy and delicious..

  9. It looks great and so colorful !!!