Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

I am both a lazy and mediocre baker, quick to grow impatient with precise measurements and a poor sport when it comes to washing all those bowls, measuring cups and messy utensils.

This is my kind of cake,  Strawberry Buttermilk Cake, an old-fashioned tea cake that my mother and grandmother would serve to lady friends in the afternoon – or to a lucky girl just home from school. No frosting or fanfare, just a quick treat that features beautiful spring berries.

TIP: Spend an extra dollar or two and buy organic strawberries for your family. Strawberries can absorb pesticides at an alarming rate and capacity.

Serves 4

• flour and butter to prepare cake pan
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon Meyer lemon zest
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken
• 1 generous cup strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Butter and flour a round cake pan. Place a circle of parchment paper in the prepared pan.

3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt.

4. Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, lemon zest and egg. Beat for two minutes.

5. On low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beginning and adding with the flour mix. Mix until just blended, ending with a stir using a rubber spatula.

6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Place the prepared berries evenly on top of the batter, then sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.

7. Bake for 25 minutes, until cake turns golden brown and tester comes out clean.

8. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then use 2 plates to remove it, discard the parchment and invert onto serving plate.