Mother’s day is just around the corner and there is no better way to surprise your mom and say I love you than with a gorgeous cake. Because it’s strawberry season for most of you, I thought I would share an easy and delicious vanilla bean-strawberry cake, a match made in heaven. For me, this cake embodies spring and afternoon tea with your mom.
The cake is a vanilla cake studded with little flecks of vanilla bean, which is basically the best thing ever. The cake is kept moist by the addition of buttermilk, which I feel goes so well with strawberries. Beautiful fresh strawberries grace the top of the batter, which then get a sprinkling of sugar giving the cake a nice crunch when baked and a light sweetness to the strawberries. I love that the strawberries get nicely roasted in the oven giving the cake such a beautiful strawberry flavour. I love, love, love, roasted strawberries.
The cake takes minimal effort to make but tastes absolutely delicious. Serve it slightly warm with some vanilla ice cream and you have the perfect spring or summer dessert. Your mom will love it!
Vanilla Bean-Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar divided
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 vanilla bean split in half and seeds removed
- 1 pound fresh strawberries hulled and halved
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 8-inch springform pan. (alternatively an 9-inch works also)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla bean seeds. Mix until combined, about 1 minute, scraping the bowl if necessary. The mixture will likely look curdled, but don’t worry,
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until combined and batter is smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan, and arrange the strawberries over the cake. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake the cake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Continue to bake the cake until golden brown and firm to the touch, about another 75 to 80 minutes. (Note: if you use a bigger cake pan the baking time will be less- start checking at 60 minutes).
- Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Notes
