Recipe 14 of 100 Fresh Strawberry Cake

I discussed in my recent post on The Nosher my obsession with cooking with fresh berries over the summer.   So when I went strawberry picking and came home with more strawberries then I knew what to do with I knew I had to bake. The husband does not love strawberries (ok, we have concluded he actually is allergic, but he still loved the cake and ate it)– so there was more for me to enjoy.

My entire apartment smelt like a strawberry patch while this was baking. While we have mostly seen rain, and only little glimpses of summer, the smell of this cake gave me hope that true summer weather is just around the corner. Maybe if we all make our homes smell like summer other nature will get a hint.

Fresh Strawberry Cake - ready to be eaten! 

This  Fresh Strawberry Cake is incredibly light which I really appreciate in the summer. Not only that, but it is pareve. You can certainly make it ahead and it will keep for 2 days (but it will be hard not to take a bite)!

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Adapted from Martha Stewart

½ teaspoon table salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved

6 tablespoons unsalted margarine, at room temperature

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 10-inch pie pan or a 9- or 10-inch springform pan.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.

In a larger bowl, beat margarine and 1 cup sugar until fluffy with an electric mixer (about 2 minutes). Mix in egg, almond milk and vanilla until just until lightly mixed. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until smooth and there are no clumps.

Pour into prepared pie pan or springform pan. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer - Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 40 minutes to 50 minutes.

If you are having this with a dairy meal serve with whipped cream or some vanilla ice cream.

ENJOY!

Killing Two Birds With One Stone: Recipe 13 of 100 AND #21 (guest blog)

Have you ever read The Nosher? If not -- you probably should. It is a great food blog about all things Jewish food, recipes, trends, and even give you Shabbat and holiday menus. (Yep, that is always the worst part.) The Nosher is written by Ben’s colleague from the Bronfman Foundation Shannon Sarna and other contributing Jewish food lovers. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of be a contributing blogger! While I love to cook and share my recipes, to be on a blog beside some great names in the Kosher food blogging world was really great!

So check out recipe 13 of 100 – my very own Pie Berry Crumble. It is really good, fairly easy to make and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream it cannot be beat! 

Do you write a blog? I still need to guest blog one another place to cross #21 off my list and would love to write something for you!

Transition #3 (AND THE LAST ONE FOR NOW)

I am sitting at the airport in Ottawa, far to early may I add, waiting to board my flight back to Boston. I didn’t get much sleep while I was here, but I think that is in anticipation for my first day of work tomorrow at Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters. I am very excited for tomorrow and also slightly nervous. 

When I worked for Ramah I feel like I never really had a first day of full time employment. It all rolled into each other from summer to the off-season work to full time work. When I started at the Museum of Science I had an end date – I knew once I was done school I would have to find full time employment opportunities.

Tomorrow is different. It is the first day of a job that I am excited for, that I hope to be in long term, and for an organization that does amazing – life changing work. 

I am not sure what to expect tomorrow, but I have already met many people there and was welcomed and embraced. From the board members to my new coworkers everyone not only seemed nice but they clearly loved what they do and the organization they get to call “home” everyday.

Can’t wait to tell you all the details. And of course, if you want to be a Big Brother or Sister please let me know. I know they could always use more volunteers to help create life-changing relationships.