If you are looking for a simple cake to enjoy at breakfast or at dessert, you will love my fresh strawberry cake! It is full of chopped strawberries and is sooo moist from the ground walnuts I’ve mixed into the batter. A little sifted confectioners’ sugar is all you need to finish it off. Yum!
Hello, all!
I am now the mother of a high school student. š® I’m not sure how it happened, but my daughter is done with middle school and looking down the path to college. We’re planning a relaxed summer (since she isn’t working yet) with family trips, day trips, art classes, archery classes, and whatever else comes our way.
In other news, more specific as you why you’re here, I’ve been enjoying my first local strawberries of the year this week!
It’s absolutely amazing how much better they are than the usual supermarket strawberries. If you can, totally pick some up. You won’t be sorry! And then you can make this awesome dessert and you’ll be even less sorry.
Top Tips!
- Use the sweetest strawberries you can find.
- Grind the walnuts to provide both nuttiness and great texture.
- Use buttermilk for tang. (Don’t switch to milk+lemon juice. It’ll be too thin.)
- Layer up the batter and berries to prevent sinking.
How to make this
To make a fresh strawberry walnut cake, use a stand mixer to make the batter, adding the walnuts with the flour. Then layer the batter and the strawberries in a prepared springform pan and bake until the top is browned and cake is set. Let cool and top with confectioners’ sugar.
1. Get everything organized
Before you get started making the cake, you need to do a little prep!
- Grind the walnuts
You can use a food processor or a coffee grinder or if you have nut grinder obviously use that, but whatever you use, grind 1/2 cup of walnuts until they are very finely chopped. Just make sure they don’t turn into a paste! If you think they are getting a little oily looking or clumping a little, immediately stop and set them aside for the recipe.
- Toss the strawberries with cornstarch
Once you’ve chopped the strawberries, toss them with a little cornstarch.
- Line the pan
You are going to need a 9-inch springform pan. Make a parchment round for the bottom and then grease the bottom and sides, laying parchment down and pressing it in place.
Tip: Having trouble cutting the round liner for the pan? Try this hack from Food and Wine!
- Mix the dry and wet
First mix together all the dry ingredients and then mix together all the wet ingredients. Now you are all prepped!
2. Make the batter
First up you’re going to mix the eggs and sugar together for 5 minutes. Yes, 5 minutes! By the end the eggs will be so light the batter will fall in ribbons from the beater. This will keep it from being too dense!
Then add the dry and the wet mixtures in turns. By doing each a little at a time, your batter will combine correctly and make lovely cake.
3. Fill the tin
To keep the strawberries from all sinking to the bottom, you are going to put down a protective layer of batter first, then add half the strawberries, then more batter, and the rest of the strawberries.
If I take pictures of this recipe again, I’ll change up these photos since they are not completely clear are they! Sorry. š Anyway, the first picture is the bottom layer of batter. Then the next is that layer with the strawberries. (And then there is a missing photo showing me covering those strawberries.) And the final photo is the filled cake pan. (And then maybe one more photo of me pushing in the strawberries on top? Since you don’t want them sticking out like that.)
4. Bake
Once the pan is full, bake the cake in the oven. After it’s done, cool and then move it to a serving dish. Top with confectioners’ sugar and slice!
Simple Cakes with Fruit
- Summertime Peach Cake
- Mom’s Amazing Fresh Apple Cake – it’s my mom’s recipe, you know it’s good!
- Rhubarb Coffee Cake
- Fresh Peach Buckle Cake
If you try my recipe for Fresh Strawberry Cake, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
– Happy Baking, Annemarie
Fresh Strawberry Walnut Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped strawberries
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup walnuts, heaping
- 2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- confectioners' sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and cut a parchment round for the bottom.
- Toss the strawberries with the cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.
- Grind the walnuts until they are very finely chopped but not a paste.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the walnuts with the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, mix together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, orange juice, and vanilla.
- Put the flat beater on your standing mixer. Add the eggs and the sugar to the bowl. Mix on medium high speed for 5 minutes. The batter will be very light colored and flow off the beater in a stream.
- Turn the mixer to low. Begin adding the flour and buttermilk mixtures in turn. Start with 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the buttermilk, and continue 1/3, 1/2, 1/3. Be careful not to overmix and only mix just enough to incorporate each addition.
- Spread 1/3 of the batter onto the bottom of the prepared springform pan.
- Top the batter with 1/2 of the strawberries, spreading them out over the surface.
- Add the remaining batter and smooth it out over the top. Then add the remaining berries, pressing them in a bit so they are sitting in the batter.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean or until a thermometer reads between 205-210F.
- Let rest on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Then remove the ring of the springform pan and let it cool completely.
- To serve move the cake onto a serving platter (removing the pan base) and dust with confectioners' sugar.
Notes
- Grinding the walnuts: You can use a food processor, coffee grinder, or nut grinder to chop the walnuts.
- Measuring the flour: Use the scoop and sweep method for measuring the flour. Scoop the measuring cup into the flour and then sweep off the excess. This will give you ~5 oz (by weight) of flour per cup.
- Moving the cake: Use a cutting board or plate and place in gently on top of the cake then flip it over so the top is resting on the board. Take off the pan base and peel off the parchment. Put your serving platter over the bottom and flip again.
- Confectioners' sugar: Dust with the sugar just before serving since the sugar will tend to melt into the top of the cake.
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