Strawberry Spoon Cake Recipe • 5★

Published June 16, 2020

Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell.

This unfussy cake with a top layer of jammy strawberries is so gooey it’s best to serve the whole thing with a spoon. The batter comes together quickly with minimal effort, using basic pantry ingredients and a small handful of berries — frozen or fresh. If you’re using frozen, be sure to defrost them in the microwave first. Extract as much juice as possible from the fruit by macerating and mashing it, so that it lends the cake additional moisture while baking. Add a dash of freshly ground cardamom or ground ginger on top before baking it off, if you like, or some ribbons of fresh basil once it’s hot out of the oven. Whatever embellishments you decide on, burrowing warm spoonfuls of this cake beside scoops of vanilla ice cream is the most important thing.

Featured in: Sweet, Tender and Studded With Strawberries

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½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted, plus more for greasing

5 ounces/145 grams frozen and thawed or fresh, hulled strawberries (about 1 cup)

⅔ cup/150 grams packed light brown sugar

½ cup/120 milliliters whole milk, at room temperature

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup/130 grams all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Step 1Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch (square or round) baking dish with butter. Set aside.

Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch (square or round) baking dish with butter. Set aside.

Step 2Using your hands or the back of a fork, mash the berries to release all their juices, and stir in ⅓ cup of the brown sugar. Set aside.

Using your hands or the back of a fork, mash the berries to release all their juices, and stir in ⅓ cup of the brown sugar. Set aside.

Step 3In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, remaining ⅓ cup brown sugar, milk and salt, then add the flour and baking powder and continue whisking just until the batter is smooth. Transfer the batter (it’s not much) to the greased baking dish, and spread evenly into corners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, remaining ⅓ cup brown sugar, milk and salt, then add the flour and baking powder and continue whisking just until the batter is smooth. Transfer the batter (it’s not much) to the greased baking dish, and spread evenly into corners.

Step 4Spoon the strawberries and all their juices over the top of the cake batter. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or just when a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 to 5 minutes before spooning into bowls. Serve warm with ice cream.

Spoon the strawberries and all their juices over the top of the cake batter. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or just when a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 to 5 minutes before spooning into bowls. Serve warm with ice cream.

I ate this whole thing by myself. All of it.

Bakers' commentary has saved me again. I'm feeling so very low - children massacred; men defending gun rights; unprovoked war; people feeling free with hate. Then - Sara James: "I ate this whole thing by myself. All of it." and Mary: "I love my baked goods with poisons." I cried with gratefulness that there is still lightness. The world may be saved by bakers. Thank you.

This is a riff on an old fashioned recipe called “Essies Cobbler”. I recommend melting the butter in the pan while the oven is preheating (leaving a bit in the pan and putting the batter in the hot pan create a lovely chewy crust) and also increasing the amount of fruit which can be any juicy fruit - peaches, blueberries, etc.

Very good. I made it with frozen cherries reduced instead of strawberries. I loved that it is not too sweet- it lets the fruit be the star

I’ve made this recipe many times, as is, with great results. Today, I tried the same recipe but used blueberries and added lemon zest to the batter. It worked beautifully. I’m so excited to try more riffs on the wonderful recipe.

This was fantastic when I made it as-written my first time around. For my second try and because it was what I had on hand, I made this with fresh strawberries from the farmers' market, pea-protein milk, and 2/3 C olive oil instead of butter. Still delicious!

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021174-strawberry-spoon-cake