We went strawberry picking this weekend! The pick-your-own orchard down the street from us didn’t have strawberries available this year. Their beds aren’t covered, so the frost got to all the blossoms. Total bummer! As it worked out though, here on the Eastern Shore, there is never a strawberry patch too far in the horizon.
We went to the homebrew shop on Saturday, and on the way there was a farm that had pick-your-own berries available. You take a tractor ride to get to the patch, and Andrew has been talking it ever since. Took virtually no time to fill up 2 boxes of berries, totaling about 17 lbs. Andrew was a great helper this year too! He did a great job only picking the ripest and reddest of berries.
I’ve got some great stuff in the pipeline with these beauties! First off, this delicious strawberry yogurt cake. I whipped this up on Saturday night to enjoy as a light breakfast on Mother’s Day morning. So fresh, light (yet dense!), and incredibly moist – it was the perfect treat with my cup of coffee on Sunday. Came together really easily with ingredients you more than likely already have in your fridge and pantry. As an extra bonus, I got to use my Bundt pan, which I often feel gets neglected. Berry season is in full swing here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and is heading north. Get while the gettins’ good, folks! Enjoy!
Strawberry Yogurt Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt
1/3 cup buttermilk or milk
1 tsp vanilla exract
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 325*. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated. Add the buttermilk and the vanilla, and mix until combined.
Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.
Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.
Source: adapted from A Spicy Perspective
