Easy Sunken Strawberry Cake

Super easy fresh strawberry cake – the fresh strawberries sink down and become jammy and even sweeter in a soft brown butter cake

This Sunken Strawberry Cake is exactly the effortless dessert that I’m after all spring and summer long. I love to use extremely ripe seasonal fruit that is so naturally juicy and sweet. All 6 of us actually went to a pick-your-own strawberry farm to pick these gorgeous berries. Even baby Ari sat in the fields and ate ruby red berries until he was covered in sticky juice. It was perfect. The cake comes together in a single bowl and doesn’t require any special equipment or a mixer, also perfect. Another reason this recipe is gold? You can use this cake recipe with whatever exceptionally ripe fruit you have at the moment: nectarines, cherries, plums, blackberries! They will all be absolute gold with this rustic brown butter cake that’s slightly chewy around the edges due to some added almond flour.

What to do with soft, very ripe strawberries

There are 3 things to do with supremely ripe seasonal strawberries, IMO. 1. Make jam. 2.Freeze them for smoothies and shakes. 3. Make this Easy Sunken Strawberry Cake, because the berries are the star of the show! Guess what? I did all three! (We picked A LOT of berries) When you have really high quality ingredients, like ripe summer fruit, you want to enjoy them in their nearly natural state. Use minimal supporting flavors to the let the berries really shine.

How do you make a strawberry cake

I think they are two types of people. When you hear the words “strawberry cake,” you either imagine an bubblegum pink colored layer cake with some kind of cream cheese frosting, and an artificial strawberry like flavor. Or, you’re like me, and dream of rustic buttery cake that bakes up to kind of envelop extraordinarily ripe jammy berries. This cake is a little different than most butter cake recipes. I go the extra mile, and brown some good quality unsalted butter until it gets nutty and golden brown. This adds so much richness and a real depth of flavor. Next, I love to add 1/2 cup of almond flour to the batter, which gives the batter more texture and makes the edges golden and chewy.

This cake bakes in a 9-inch cake pan, lined with parchment paper. I love using parchment paper here because I can then EASILY lift the cake out of the pan without any fear of sticking.

I can’t wait for you all to make this cake! It’s such an incredibly easy, delicious to use your seasonal fruit. Want to save this recipe for later? Just tap any of the pictures and click the “Pin It” icon to save to your favorite Pinterest board. I love seeing my recipes come to life in your kitchens, so please remember to tag me so I can see which recipes you’re making from the blog!

xo, LeAnne

Love this recipe? Be sure to check out Summer Fruit Tart, Cherry Raspberry Crostata, and Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake.

4.67 from 6 votes

Print

Sunken Strawberry Cake

Super easy fresh strawberry cake - the fresh strawberries sink down and become jammy and sweet in a soft brown butter cake

Course Dessert

Keyword brown butter, cake, easy cakes, strawberries, summer desserts

Prep Time 15 minutes

Servings 1 9-inch cake

Ingredients

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, browned
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temp
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 generous pint of ripe strawberries or blueberries, blackberries, cherries, peaches, plums
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Spray the bottom with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Trim the tops off of the strawberries, and slice in half. Set aside.
3. In a small pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue whisking frequently until the butter begins to brown and smell really nutty. Remove the browned butter from the pan, and pour into a heatproof bowl, allow to cool for 15 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, combine The slightly cooled brown butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs. Whisk by hand to thoroughly combine for 2 minutes, until the mixture is slightly airy and light.

5. Add the flour, almond flour, salt, and baking powder to the bowl. Whisk until just combined.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Add the strawberries to the top of the batter. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top of the berries and batter. Bake for 55-60 minutes until deeply golden brown. Allow to cool. Store at room temperature for 1-2 days.

The post Sunken Strawberry Cake first appeared on Lion’s Bread Blog.