strawberry buttermilk cake

it was a strawberry buttermilk cake weekend.  made first for dinner with friends on friday night.  second for our first cook-out invite of the season.  it gave me a chance to try out both a 9x9 and 9x13 cake.  i'll give instructions for both sizes; the 9x9 is a bit thicker cake (which is my preference if i'm going to make a smaller cake).  buttermilk cake is super moist and not too sweet, and also an easy and sturdy snack cake.  paired with super sweet strawberries is a great combo.  and leftover for breakfast is practically perfect.

9x9 cake:

6 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c flour (i used half all-pourpose, half white whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c buttermilk
fresh strawberries, halved

9x13 cake:

8 tbsp butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 1/3 c flour (same half and half)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c buttermilk
fresh strawberries, halved

in a medium bowl whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.  in a large bowl cream butter and sugar on medium until fluffy.  add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  turn mixer down to low, alternate flour mixture and buttermilk in thirds, and mix just until combined.

pour into buttered pan and arrange strawberries on top.  you can really fill up the space with strawberries!

you can sprinkle some coarse sugar on top of the strawberries now (or sprinkle powdered sugar on the cake before serving).  bake at 350 for 20-25 min for the 9x9, or 30-35 min for the 9x13, until a toothpick comes out clean.  cool on a wire rack.

voila!  other berries, rhubarb, or plums would also be really great with this cake.  the recipe is also really forgiving, so feel free to play around with it to suit your taste.

just peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

sometimes the act of baking is the most important part of the experience.  today is day 3 of dreary rainy grossness in nyc.  and the kids are getting restless.  and the moms are losing it (well, this mom, anyway).  so, odin and his friend arden made some cookies this morning.  the recipe is simple enough you don't really need to look at it once you've made these a few times, which is nice when you're baking with the likes of odin and arden.  and the recipe is a great base to build from for a huge variety of drop cookies.

recipe:


1/2 c sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
8 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/4 c peanut butter
2 c white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
chocolate chips

cream butter and sugar on medium.  add eggs, then peanut butter and mix until well combined.  whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  on low, add slowly and mix until combined.  stir in chocolate chips.  bake at 350 for 8-10 min (for med cookies) until just starting to brown.  cool on wire racks.  makes about 24 cookies.

perfect easy cookies.  not too sweet, just full of the deliciousness of peanut butter and chocolate.  and i should have thought of taking a picture of my cookie helpers, but amber (arden's mama) and i were too busy refereeing fights and intercepting plots to capture the poor dumb cats.

strawberry white chocolate chip cream scones

strawberries strawberries everywhere!  i love it.  mostly they don't make it more than a day from purchase to bellies in our house.  odin especially is a little berry monster.  i specifically bought extra strawberries today to bake some deliciousness, though.  and, holy moly, am i glad i did!  and, sometimes i like to say things like holy moly to feel connected to my midwestern roots.

recipe:


10-12 oz strawberries, cut into small pieces (about 2 c)  *fight the urge to add more than this.  i went overboard and used too many, and it was very hard to form the scones; that's what i get for being greedy.
1/2 c plus 1 tbsp sugar
juice and zest of 1 lime
2 c flour (i used 1c all-purpose and 1c white whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into small squares
3/4 c heavy cream
1 c white chocolate chips

combine strawberries, 1 tbsp sugar, and lime juice and set aside.  in a large bowl, whisk remaining sugar and lime zest until combined.  whisk in flour, baking powder, and salt.  add butter and combine with pastry cutter or forks, it will look like coarse crumbles.  add cream and stir just until combined.  add strawberries and chips.  the strawberries are difficult to mix in, and i ended up just doing it by hand as i formed the individual scones.  sprinkle a bit of coarse sugar on top of the scones.   i prefer scones that are more cookie-sized, and i ended up with about 18.  bake at 375 for 12-15 min, until the tops are just beginning to brown.  cool for 10 min on the cookie sheet before moving to a wire rack.

these little scones are practically perfect.  sweet, light, and fluffy, a hint of salt, moist with just a little crunch at the edges.  the strawberries not only taste perfect, but they're gorgeous, which is such a nice bonus.  next up, strawberry buttermilk cake...