A Berry Good Cake Recipe

"Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup." ~Wendell Berry

There are so many ways to enjoy sweet summer berries. Pancakes, muffins, cakes, desserts and of course the old standby, just popping them in your mouth. One of the true joys of summer is a bowl of freshly picked blueberries and strawberries.

I picked up a few too many berries last week (I couldn't help myself) and was searching for a cake recipe to use up the rest of what I had in the fridge. There are a lot of great recipes out there but the one I settled on definitely turned out to be a keeper. It had the consistency of a pound cake, which I love. The combination of buttery cake and sweet berries with just a hint of lemon made for a nice Sunday treat.

The original recipe called for just blueberries but I used half blueberries and half strawberries. Feel free to use either or a combination of both.

Berry Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour plus 1 tsp of flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups fresh berries (blueberries and/or strawberries)
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour.
2. Mix 1 cup of flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium high speed for 2 minutes.
4. Add sugar and vanilla and beat for about two more minutes, until light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until blended.
6. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture, beating until smooth.
7. Pour the batter into baking pan.
8. Combine berries with the remaining tsp flour and lemon juice in a bowl.
9. Spoon the berry mixture over the batter.
10. Bake on middle rack for 1 hour at 350°F or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
11. Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
12. Transfer to plate or platter.

Enjoy!

(Adapted from Simply Recipes' Blueberry Cake recipe)