Hello strawberry season!…And hay fever season *cries*. Sending love to all those currently suffering with endless sneezing and a permanent stuffy nose. Hopefully this cake makes us feel a teeny bit better.
This week I’m back with another single layer cake; if you’ve been here for a little while you’ll know that my love for them knows no bounds. Who needs extra layers when you can just pile one high with a mountain of cream and fruit. Strawberries and cream is the vibe I’ve gone for and it’s a truly perfect summery pairing that never disappoints. In it’s most simplest form - juicy fresh strawberries and a pour of cold cream, it’s a classic dessert that begs you to eat it in a sunny garden whilst watching the tennis.
During this time of year when berries and stone fruit are at their best, you don’t really need to do too much with them. The strawberries here have just been macerated for about 20 minutes which not only makes them nice and syrupy but they taste even more intensely like strawberries, if that’s even possible. They’re spooned on top of a very easy buttermilk sponge cake where we jazz things up and beat chunks of halva into the batter.
If you’ve not baked with or eaten halva before, do seek it out and give it a try! It’s a confectionary made from sesame seeds and comes in blocks that you can slice or crumble. If you like tahini, this will be right up your street. You can typically find it in Turkish or Greek supermarkets and sometimes in the world food aisle of a big Sainsbury’s. They come in a range of flavours from plain or vanilla, to chocolate and pistachio. I’ve previously used halva in cookies and buttercream but incorporating it into the cake batter leaves you with a delightfully nutty-without-the-nuts flavour. A very satisfying backdrop against the sweet strawberries and fluffy cream.
This will no doubt be the first of many more strawberry recipes coming up so I hope you enjoy starting with this one!
Benjamina x
STRAWBERRY, BUTTERMILK & HALVA CAKE
You can bake the cake in advance, just wrap it well in cling film or keep it in an airtight container. Once you’ve put the cream on top, it’s best served on the same day. Any leftovers will have to be stored in the fridge because of the fresh cream but be aware that the cake will start to dry out.
I also use some crème fraîche in the topping for extra tang but if you don’t have any, just swap it out for more double cream.
RECIPE
serves 8-12
equipment : one deep 8 inch/20cm tin
for the cake:
120g unsalted butter, softened
180g caster sugar
100g plain or vanilla halva
3 large eggs
275g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
120ml buttermilk
for the topping:
250ml double cream
100g creme fraiche
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp icing sugar
for the strawberries:
250g strawberries
1 tbsp caster sugar
squeeze of lemon
1 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160c fan/180c. Grease and line a deep 8 inch/20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Add the butter, sugar and halva to a bowl and beat for 3-4 minutes until pale and creamy.
Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after adding each one.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
Add half of this to the butter mixture and stir until smooth.
Mix in the buttermilk followed by the rest of the flour mixture.
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45-48 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let it cool completely.
Prepare the strawberries by washing them and slicing into discs. Add them to a shallow bowl and add the sugar and squeeze of lemon. Give it a gentle stir and then let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes until they get syrupy.
To make the topping, add the cream, crème fraîche, vanilla and sugar to a bowl and whisk by hand until the cream starts to thicken and holds soft peaks. Be careful not to over whip!
Once the cake is cool, top it with the cream and use the back of a spoon to swirl it around. Spoon on the strawberries along with some of the syrup.
Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds on top and serve.
hi, may i know what is the subtitute for halva????