Laura

Strawberry & Vanilla Bean Snacking Cake

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Who doesn’t love snacking? I know I do, and what better snack to treat yourself with then a little piece of cake. Don’t feel guilty, a little treat every now and again won’t do you harm and if that’s not enough words of encouragement I am here to tell you that there is just a cake made for such things.

Snacking cake is a great name for a cake. It’s not too heavy, its light and in this case full of fruit. One of your five a day in each slice. Another reason to not feel guilty for snacking on this summer inspired bake.


I adore strawberries and only eat them in Summer when they are made to be eaten. No point eating them in the other three seasons of the year, strawberries are made for Summer time.

I love eating them by the handful straight from the little plastic containers that they come in fresh from the market stall with the sun shining brightly upon me and I also like to bake with seasonal produce. So with strawberries being in peak season right now, what better time to incorporate them into a little light and bouncy crumbed cake.


Sweet, juicy, intoxicating, aromatic strawberries fill this light cake which has been laced with vanilla bean. I wanted a light flavour to balance out the strawberries sweetness, the delicate scent of vanilla does the job wonderfully. I used a whole vanilla bean for the cake as well as a drop of pure vanilla extract. For an extra boost of vanilla I used vanilla sugar in place of regular sugar. I love the simplistic flavour of vanilla and I love the delicate almost floral notes it emits.

Of course this cake had to have a glaze, don’t get me wrong, the cake on its own is super yummy enough but drizzle on a glaze and it makes cake super duper yummy! Sour cream is used in the cake to keep it from being dry and I used it in the glaze for the cake too. I didn’t want too sweet a glaze for the cake, and this glaze has a slight twang which balances out the sweetness of the cake nicely.


I love cakes like this as they are light in texture, perfect for any occasion and are a doodle to make. Perfect for when you want cake but don’t have that much time on your hands.

Here’s how to do it. In a large jug add the egg, egg yolk, sour cream, seeds from the vanilla bean and the vanilla extract and give everything a light whisk to combine. Now its the dry ingredients time to be combined, get yourself a medium bowl and sift together most of the flour, baking powder bicarbonate of soda and the salt and set aside. Set your electric mixer to high-speed cream together the butter and vanilla sugar until you’ve got the signature smooth, creamy and light coloured consistency. Don’t forget to scrape down your bowl so nothing get’s missed being mixed together.


With your mixer set to low slowly add your wet ingredients then your dry. Give everything a final mix together with your spatula then toss the strawberries with the remaining flour and stir through with the spatula. Now bake your cake.

See how quick and easy this cake is to make, that’s one of the reasons I love it. Once it’s cold drizzle over your glaze then it’s all good to eat. Yum!


Perfect summer strawberries are great to eat as they are or for an extra special treat this weekend pop some into this delicious cake, you can even top the cake with some fresh strawberries. A perfect little fruity snack wouldn’t you say!?

Yields – One 8 x 8 inch square cake

Ingredients

{cake}

  • 1 Large egg
  • 1 Large egg yolk
  • 125 ml (1/2 cup) Sour cream
  • 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
  • 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
  • 180 grams (1 1/2 cups) Plain flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon Bicarbonate soda
  • Pinch of Maldon Sea salt
  • 80 grams (3/4 stick) Unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 200 grams (1 cup) Vanilla sugar
  • 200 grams (8 ounces) Strawberries, hulled and halved

{glaze}

  • 2 tablespoons Sour cream
  • 85 grams (3/4 cup) Icing sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 175C,350C and spray an 8 x 8 inch baking tin with cake release spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a large jug add the egg, egg yolk, sour cream, seeds from the vanilla bean and the vanilla extract and give everything a light whisk to combine.
  3. Now its the dry ingredients time to be combined, get yourself a medium bowl and sift together 155 grams (1 1/4 cup) flour, baking powder bicarbonate of soda and the salt and set aside.
  4. Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment set to high-speed cream together the butter and vanilla sugar until you’ve got a smooth, creamy and light coloured consistency. Don’t forget to scrape down your bowl so nothing get’s missed being mixed together. Whilst the creaming is going on toss the strawberries with the reaming flour and set aside.
  5. With your mixer set to low slowly add your wet ingredients then your dry. Give everything a final mix together with your spatula then add the strawberries stirring through with the spatula.
  6. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin on a wire rack for 20 minutes before transferring to the wire rack to cool completely.
  7. Once cool, make your glaze by adding the sour cream to a medium size bowl then sift over the icing sugar and add the vanilla extract. Whisk together then drizzle over your cake.

Notes

* Recipe adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes – Lauren Chattman

* This cake is best eaten on the day it’s made as It contains fresh fruit but will be okay for the next day too.

* Keep in a cake tin with a tight-fitting lid, storing in a cool, dry place.

* If you don’t have vanilla sugar, plain caster sugar will be just fine.


Tagged: Berries, Cake Keeper Cakes - Lauren Chattman, Pure Vanilla Extract, Seasonal, Snacking Cake, Sour cream glaze, Strawberries, Strawberry and Vanilla, Strawberry and Vanilla Cake, Strawberry Cake, Strawberry Snacking Cake, summer, Summer Cake, Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Cake, vanilla extract, Vanilla Snacking Cake, Vanilla Sugar
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