Strawberry Spoon Cake

By Jerrelle Guy

Published June 16, 2020

  • A baking dish filled with strawberry-topped cake is photographed from overhead. To the edge of the bowl there’s a missing serving, which sits in a small bowl at bottom left.
    Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
30 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
5(15,310)
Comments
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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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Ingredients

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

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

70 grams carbs; 71 milligrams cholesterol; 529 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 26 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 367 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 43 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

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

  2. Step 2

    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.

  3. Step 3

    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.

  4. Step 4

    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.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
15,310 user ratings
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Comments

Sara James

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

LittleBird

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.

Mary Alford

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.

lizzysap

SOOOO gooood! And super easy. I would probably use a few more strawberries next time.

Suz

Used up the last of our Oregon Hood strawberries along with a slender stalk of rhubarb cut 1/4” (zapped in microwave for about 45 seconds with a bit of water to soften a bit, drained before adding to strawberries and sugar). Didn’t have whole milk so I subbed 6 tbsp yogurt and 2 tbsp water. Turned out wonderful! Everyone gobbled it up. I like the way the photo shows un-mashed strawberry halves and will try a mix next time.

Robin

Love this. Added two eggs and used whole wheat flour, but I've also made it as written. I like it with the eggs best, nothing else has to change.

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