strawberry & almond skillet cake

Strolling through the supermarket yesterday I noticed the ridiculously cheap price of strawberries.

I got completely caught up in the strawberry sale frenzy and returned home with what seemed like a years worth of the bright red and perfectly ripe beauties.

Staring at the everest pile of my favourite fruit I knew I had to do something with them as they teetered on the edge of overripeness.

I considered going old school style and making a batch of homemade strawberry jam but the thought of pectin, sterilising jars and hot sticky jam around a crawling bub instantly had me searching for other means of using up my wonderful fruity purchase.  So after freezing a decent amount for later enjoyment the remaining berries were to adorn a cake I decided.

A little while back I cooked up a lovely almond cake nestled under a beautiful layer of pears, flaked almonds and sugar.  Ever since I’ve been looking for an excuse to bake it once again and these strawberries are just that.

This almond cake is easy to prepare and really delicious on its own but when adorned with a layer of sticky, jammy, gooey, super sweet strawberries this cake is truly something special.

To create your own slice of strawberry heaven simply…

Begin by hulling and halving a couple of punnets of gorgeous strawberries.

Next place the almond meal, sugar, plain flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.  Stir and make a well in the centre.

In a small jug place the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry and use a wooden spoon to stir until combined.

Add the melted butter and stir to combine.

Pour the luscious cake batter into a 24cm round cake pan lined with baking paper.

Top the batter with the sliced strawberries, a good handful of flaked almonds and a sprinkling of caster sugar.

Pop into a preheated 180 degree celsius (350 F) oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Allow to cool a little before removing from the cake tin to cool completely on a wire rack.

strawberry & almond skillet cake

adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

INGREDIENTS

1 cup caster sugar, plus extra for scattering

1 ½ cups plain flour

1/3 cup almond meal

1½ tsp baking powder

1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

40 gm butter, melted

2 punnets (300 grams) strawberries, hulled & halved

40 gm flaked almonds

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).  Place the caster sugar, flour, almond meal and baking powder in a large bowl and stir to combine making a well in the centre. In a small jug place the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine.  Add the wet ingredients into the well of the dry and stir to combine.  Add melted butter and stir until you have formed a smooth batter.  Spoon into a buttered 24cm-diameter deep ovenproof frying pan (or 24 centimeter cake pan lined with baking paper).  Scatter with strawberries, flaked almonds and extra sugar. Bake until golden and a skewer withdraws clean (40-45 minutes).  Enjoy x

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