I never ever thought it would happen in our house. But I had an over supply of strawberries. It was time to make a Vanilla Strawberry Cake. But unfortunately, the beautiful bottle of pure organic vanilla extract I brought a few weeks ago for a small fortune went walkabout and was no where to be found. Lucky I came across this recipe in my local newspaper and it saved my cake baking day.
A beautiful cake and perfect for summer. The kids ate theirs as is, but the hubby ate his with vanilla ice cream. Its good.
500g strawberries, hulled and sliced
150g softened butter
3/4 lightly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (I obviously didn't have this, so used strawberry essence instead)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup milk
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a 20cm round baking tin with baking paper.
Put the softened butter and brown sugar in a food processor and process until soft and creamy. Add the eggs, vanilla and cinnamon and process until just mixed.
Add the flour, baking powder, coconut and milk. Pulse briefly until combined.
Spoon two thirds of the mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly. Scatter the sliced strawberries over the batter and then drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter over the berries.
Place the cake in the middle of the oven and bake for 40 - 50 minutes until cooked.
Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before lifting out and leave to cool before serving.
I did eventually find the missing bottle of vanilla. It was hanging out in the jug of the juicer at the bottom of the cupboard. It must be time to clean out my pantry.