Strawberry barley summer cake

6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
188g plain flour (or swap 94g plain flour for 75g barley flour)
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp table salt
200g plus 25g granulated sugar

1 large egg

118 ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
450g strawberries, hulled and halved

Method

● Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (what I used). This cake would also work in a 9 or 10-inch springform or cake pan. The 10-inch would make a thinner cake than pictured.
● Whisk flour(s), baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 200g sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.
● Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer (though I had to overlap a few to get them all in). Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.
● Bake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 160°C and bake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. l Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.
● Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, loosely covered, but good luck with that.

From Smitten Kitchen (Square Peg)

Barley flour is available from www.healthysupplies.co.uk and other websites

First appeared in the JC June 16 2011