At the height of strawberry season, when there’s a glorious glut, I love to make this simple cake. It’s the perfect way to make the most of past-their-prime strawberries, which have turned sweet and jammy. As the name suggests, a ‘spoon cake’ is a bake best-served scooped straight from the dish, rather in neat slices. It’s delicious with vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche, and the parev version is equally tasty.
Method:
- Heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and grease a 20cm square or round baking dish.
- Wash and hull the berries, then cut them into 1cm pieces. Add 1tsp sumac and half the caster sugar (75g). Set aside.
- Melt the butter and whisk in the rest of the sugar, milk and salt.
- Add the flour, baking powder and second teaspoon of sumac. Whisk briefly, just until the lumps have been dispersed, then stir in the strawberries and scrape into the greased dish, smoothing the batter into the corners/edges.
- Bake for around 30–40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of a spongey part of the cake. The berries will give off some juice, so you may need to press the sponge gently with your finger to see if it feels a little springy.
- While the cake is baking, macerate the strawberries. Wash and hull the berries and cut into 1cm pieces. In a small bowl, mix them with the sugar, mint, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Allow the cake cool for 3-5 minutes before topping with the macerated strawberries. Serve straight away.
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