Strawberry-Lemon Loaf Cake

Strawberry-Lemon Loaf Cake

This cake is summer in a loaf pan. When baked, strawberries can become sour and a little gummy. Here, berries are macerated with sugar first to remove some of their liquid and concentrate their flavor. (Don’t use frozen strawberries. Keep those for your smoothie!) The lemon icing adds a nice finish, to balance and bolster the cake’s tart-sweetness. Have it as dessert or a snack, but it’s especially good at breakfast with hot coffee or tea. 

Yield: One 9-inch loaf

FOR THE CAKE

Nonstick cooking spray

1 cup/150 grams diced strawberries 

1 cup/200 grams plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 ½ cups/192 grams all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)

1 cup/227 grams sour cream, at room temperature

½ cup/110 grams vegetable oil

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE LEMON GLAZE

1 cup/123 grams confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Make the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, toss the strawberries with 1 tablespoon sugar to macerate while you prepare the cake batter.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, lemon zest, baking powder, salt and remaining 1 cup sugar. Whisk to combine. In a second large bowl, combine the sour cream, oil, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir gently to mix. Lift the macerated berries out of their liquid and add them to the batter. Gently fold in the berries until evenly incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. If it looks to be browning on top too much, tent with aluminum foil. Cool it in the pan on a rack for about 10 minutes, then unmold the cake carefully and transfer to the rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar with the lemon zest and juice and stir until smooth. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake. Let stand until set.

TIP: This looks like the glorious lemon drizzle cake I’ve made twice this summer, although mine was vegan. As with all good lemon drizzle cakes, you make lots of small holes in the top of the cake just after you take it out of the oven. Then you drizzle a lemon simple syrup over the cake, concentrating on those holes. When it’s cool, you it glaze it just as with this recipe. I decorated the cake with lemon zest and sliced strawberries. Everyone loved it.

I didn't read all the notes from others so someone else could have suggested this, but I used some of the liquid from the macerated strawberries along with a reduced portion of the lemon juice in the glaze. Why throw away all that flavor? It also makes for a nice pinkish glaze.

Strawberry Spoon Cake

Strawberry Spoon Cake

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.

Yield: 4 servings

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

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

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.

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.

TIP: 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.

I browned the butter. Misread the recipe and heated oven only to 325. After 20 minutes discovered the error. Increased temp to 350 and baked for 15 mins more. Absolutely fabulous! The strawberries were caramelized, and the cake had a beautiful color and texture. I will never use Julia’s clafoutis recipe again, and I intend to make my temp/timing mistake each time I bake this. Plus browning the butter added so much umami. Almost as good the next morning at room temp with coffee. A real keeper.

My family inhaled this in one sitting! We used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour and fresh-picked strawberries. Served it warm with strawberry ice cream (made from scratch also with our garden berries). What a summer treat!

This is the first time I felt the need to add a comment after several years of happily trying NYT recipes. Expected this to be a little heavy and wet but it is the airiest cake - and also moist! Needless to say this came out great. Followed the recipe with some extras - grated fresh young ginger roots to the strawberry-sugar mix, zested lemons and added 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste into the wet ingredients before adding the dry ingredients. Am in Bangkok. Will use ripe mangoes next time.

I’ve made versions of this recipe before; it’s basically a clafouti, a French cake. The first version I made years ago was from a Jane Brody cookbook. Any fruit is good in it. I’ve used blueberries, tart cherries, peaches and strawberries, solo or mixed together.

Frozen Strawberry Fluff

Frozen Strawberry Fluff

With a texture that lands somewhere between soft serve ice cream and freshly whipped mousse, this dairy-free, no-bake dessert is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Using three simple ingredients — egg whites, sugar and strawberries — frozen strawberry fluff is ideal for a hot summer day, an easy finish to a dinner party, or anytime you’re hankering for a sweet treat that’s free from gluten and dairy. Closely related to raspberry spuma, this recipe uses frozen berries to lower the egg whites’ temperature, making the consistency silkier and creating a perfectly cool and refreshing dessert.

Yield: 4 servings

3 large/100 grams egg whites

⅓ cup/70 grams granulated sugar

12 ounces/340 grams frozen strawberries  

Freeze-dried or fresh strawberries (or a combination), optional, for garnish

In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Reduce to medium to maintain a vigorous simmer.

In a medium heatproof bowl that can rest on the saucepan without the bottom touching the water, combine the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over the saucepan and whisk vigorously and constantly until most of the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is foamy and reaches 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the foamy egg whites to a food processor and blend for 3 to 4 minutes, until white and velvety, like a pourable meringue. While blending, gradually add the frozen strawberries through the feed tube, blending for 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth. Its light, airy texture will land somewhere between soft serve and mousse. 

Serve immediately in chilled glasses or bowls. If desired, add a handful of freeze-dried strawberries to a fine-mesh sieve and press them against the sieve to sprinkle the dust on top. Top with a whole or halved fresh strawberry or two if you like. To make this ahead, see Tip.

Tip: To make this ahead, refrigerate the cooked egg white mixture (from Step 2) for up to 2 days. Right before serving, continue with Steps 3 and 4.

I've made this for many years, but my recipe was with raspberries. It's a perfect easy, quick summer dessert that's delicious and fluffy, and always a hit. My recipe called for combining the egg whites, frozen raspberries and sugar to taste in a KitchenAid mixer with a whisk, or a food processor. I've never cooked anything, just throw it all in the mixer. You can use any frozen berries. You need to serve it asap. If there are leftovers which hardly ever happens you can freeze it and then whip it again.

No, you need to melt the sugar and heat the egg whites or they won’t fluff up enough and won’t be stable enough to hold the berries. You can’t skip the heating.

Strawberry Soda

Strawberry Soda

This festive beverage uses real fruit for a bright flavor and gorgeous dark pink hue that store-bought soda could never match. Strawberries impart a refreshing taste that’s accented by a hint of lime. The lime juice also serves to balance out the sweetness of the syrup without overpowering the delicate strawberry. Much like bottled soda, this one is craveably sweet; feel free to adjust to your liking — add more syrup if you want it sweeter, or more lime juice or club soda for a lighter beverage (the melting ice will also dilute the soda). When cooking the strawberry purée, decrease the heat if it starts to foam up, to prevent it from boiling over. Club soda or seltzer will yield a fizzier homemade soda, but sparkling water works great too. For maximum carbonation, prepare the batch à la minute.  

Yield: 2 servings

FOR THE STRAWBERRY SYRUP

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and rinsed (or frozen strawberries)

1 cup sugar

FOR THE SODA

1 ¼ cups club soda or sparkling water

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Sliced fresh strawberries (optional)

Make the strawberry syrup using a blender (see next step if you do not plan to use a blender): Add the strawberries and 1 cup water to a blender and purée. Pour the purée into a medium saucepan over medium-high. Stir in the sugar and bring to a boil. When boiling, decrease heat to medium, and stir occasionally until reduced by half, about 15 minutes (further decrease the heat if it starts to foam up and boil over). Remove the saucepan from the heat. Store the syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use, or for up to one week. (Yields about 2 cups.)

Make the strawberry syrup without using a blender: Add the strawberries, sugar and 1 cup water to a medium saucepan over medium-high and bring to a boil. When boiling, decrease heat to medium and stir occasionally until the strawberries soften, about 10 minutes (further decrease the heat if it starts to foam up and boil over). While the saucepan is still on the heat, use a fruit masher to thoroughly mash the strawberries. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the syrup is reduced by half, 5 minutes. Pour the mashed strawberry syrup through a strainer, pressing on the pulp to extract as much juice as possible. Remove the pulp and reserve for another purpose. Store the syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use, or for up to one week. (Yields about 1 ½ cups.)

Make the soda: Combine ½ cup strawberry syrup, the club soda and the lime juice in a large measuring cup or other vessel with a spout and stir well. Divide the soda evenly between two glasses filled with ice. Add sliced strawberries and serve immediately.

TIP: I freeze these syrups in an ice cube tray (order on Amazon w/lids) then you just take out as many cubes as you want and let them thaw in the glass-instant drinks. Works well with watermelon!

I made this for my wife with fresh strawberries from our garden. And she was pleased, which was all I was aiming for. Then she suggested we carbonate coconut water and use that with the strawberry syrup, it was delicious!

Prepare the strawberries without the sugar. Use a drop or two of simple syrup to sweeten to taste.

Strawberries have sugar. You don't need to add sugar unless you have trouble maintaining extra pounds and your diabetes medicine is annoyingly effective

IMO the amount of sweetener needed depends on the sweetness of the strawberries you have. Perhaps taste one first? I used 1/3 c. mixture of sugar and Stevia, with very sweet berries. I did steep the syrup with ~8 big mint leaves (to mask any potential cool flavor from the stevia), strained them at the end with a slotted spoon, and it was AMAZING! Still very sweet. Also, the higher sugar content perhaps lends to longer fridge storage if not using immediately-a difficult ask once sampled!

Strawberry Spoon Cake

Strawberry Spoon Cake

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.

Yield: 4 servings

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

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

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.

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.

TIP: I’ve made versions of this recipe before; it’s basically a clafouti, a French cake. The first version I made years ago was from a Jane Brody cookbook. Any fruit is good in it. I’ve used blueberries, tart cherries, peaches and strawberries, solo or mixed together.

Double Strawberry Shortcakes

Double Strawberry Shortcakes - Melissa Clark

With fresh berries in both the filling and the biscuits, these strawberry shortcakes double up on the fruit, making them especially juicy. To keep the shortcakes from turning soggy, the berries are briefly macerated before baking, which keeps them from weeping into the pastry. Poppy seeds add a slight nutty crunch, but you can leave them out if you prefer. Bake the shortcakes up to eight hours ahead, but, for the best texture, don’t layer them with the cream and berries until serving.

Yield: 6 shortcakes

For the Shortcakes

4 ounces/1 cup fresh strawberries, trimmed and sliced ¼-inch thick

4 tablespoons/50 grams granulated sugar

1¾ cups/230 grams all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus more for topping

½ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt

½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, cubed

Buttermilk, as needed

For Serving

8 ounces/2 cups fresh strawberries, trimmed and sliced

1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Whipped cream

In a small bowl, macerate the berries: Gently toss the strawberries with 1 tablespoon sugar and set aside for 30 minutes or until the berries are juicy and bright red.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, remaining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Add butter. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the mixture is mealy with pea-size butter pieces. While the strawberries macerate, put the flour and butter mixture in the freezer to chill.

After the strawberries have released their liquid, use a slotted spoon to carefully transfer them to a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, and dab off any excess liquid. Pour strawberry liquid into a measuring cup and add enough buttermilk to make ⅓ cup.

Add the drained strawberries to the chilled flour mixture and toss with your fingers or a fork to incorporate.

Pour in buttermilk mixture and gently toss until the dough is evenly damp and shaggy, being careful not to overmix. Turn the shaggy dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and pat it into a rough 5-by-4-inch rectangle that’s 1½ inches tall (it will look small, but will rise a lot in the oven). Cut through the dough into 6 even pieces but don’t separate the shortcakes. (This makes them easier to store.) Wrap well with plastic and place in the freezer for at least 45 minutes and up to 2 weeks.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Remove dough from the freezer. Use a knife to separate the shortcakes (you may have to cut all the way through the dough again) and place on a lined baking tray at least 1½ inches apart. Brush tops with buttermilk and sprinkle with more poppy seeds.

Put the shortcakes in the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for 22 to 30 minutes until the shortcakes are golden brown on the tops and bottoms. Transfer to a rack to cool.

To serve, in a medium bowl, toss together berries and sugar and let macerate for at least 15 minutes and up to 4 hours (store in the fridge if keeping longer than an hour). Halve the shortcakes crosswise, and fill with whipped cream and syrupy berries.

TIP: 

I discovered that if I macerate berries in brown sugar instead of white sugar, the flavor is exponentially better. More berry-y. Deeper, more interesting.

I made these today, as follows:

1. I froze the stick of butter, then grated it using a cheese grater.

2. My dough was a bit dry, so I added another teaspoon of buttermilk to it. After letting the liquids soak into the dry ingredients for a few minutes, I was able to form the dough and freeze it.

3. I agree with other posters - the dough could have used a pinch of salt. I'll add it next time.

4. Lastly, the shortcakes were baked at 400 degrees and were finished in 23 minutes.

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake 

There's a kind of magic in a summer recipe that you can make wherever you are, provided that wherever you are has, say, flour, butter, an oven and whatever fruit is most glorious is at that very moment. This strawberry shortcake is so simple that you can make it within the hour, and so satisfying that it may become your go-to for summer, the recipe you keep in your back pocket. Strawberries are the classic choice, but this would also be heavenly in high summer with very ripe peaches or any other juicy, macerated fruit. 

Yield: 4 generous servings

2 pints ripe, well-rinsed strawberries

½ cup sugar, or more to taste

4 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

5 teaspoons baking powder

1¼ cups butter

3 cups whipping cream

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Pick over and hull strawberries. Cut in half or slice, depending on size. Gently crush about a quarter of the berries with a fork to release their juices. Mix with remaining berries and the ½ cup of sugar, adding more sugar if necessary. Set aside, covered, for about half an hour to develop flavor.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Into a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, salt and baking powder. Add ¾ cup of softened butter, and rub into dry ingredients as for pastry. Add 1¼ cups cream, and mix to a soft dough. Knead the dough for one minute on a lightly floured pastry board, then roll it out to about ½-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut an even number of rounds - 2 rounds per serving.

Use a little of the butter to grease a baking sheet. Place half the rounds on it. Melt remaining butter and brush a little on the rounds; place remaining rounds on top. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven, and pull shortcakes apart. Brush the insides with some of the remaining melted butter.

Beat remaining cream until it thickens. Add vanilla. Beat again just until thick.

Place a bottom half of a shortcake on each plate. Top with a generous spoonful of cream and berries. Cover with a top half, add a few more berries, and top with whipped cream. Serve immediately.

Tip

Extra shortcakes may be frozen, but they should be warmed before using. They are also good toasted for breakfast or tea.

At 450, the bottoms started burning well before the insides of the biscuits were cooked. We lowered to baking temperature to 375, and things turned out well. So I'd suggest adjusting the baking temperature in this recipe.

I always use brown sugar to macerate strawberries. Deepens the berry flavor and the resulting juice is more intense. Reduce measure by half.

FYI. In the NY Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, copyright 1961, it calls for adding a bit of sour cream to the whipped cream. It is a fantastic addition. The sour cream puts a bit of weight to the cream making it richer. Also, I suggest putting some of the whipped cream inside the "sandwich" and more on the top.

This is a great shortcake recipe. I questioned it while I was making it, but it works! I used the food processor to cut in the butter because it was too cold, then switched to fingers to finish blending it in. When I added the cream, I thought it was never going to come together, but that minute's worth of kneading did the trick. I have other recipes for biscuits, but this is what I'll be using from now on. Crisp, short and delicious.