Spoon Cake with Strawberry Compote
Ingredients
Strawberry Compote
- 16 oz strawberries (quartered (about 3 cups))
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp cornstarch
Spoon Cake
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter (melted, plus more for the pan)
- 1 cup plain flour (plus more for the pan)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup buttermilk (if you don't have butter milk, add ¼ tbsp to your measuring cup and add just enough milk to may ¼ cup. Let sit for 5 minutes before use)
Directions
- To make the compote, combine strawberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and cornstarch to a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir constantly until a sauce forms. Set aside to cool
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat your pan (preferably a 10-inch cast iron skillet) with butter and flour, shaking out any excess flour
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt until combined
- In a larger bowl, mix together egg, vanilla, whole milk and buttermilk. Stir in melted butter and dry ingredients then mix until just incorporated
- Pour about half of the cake batter into the pan and then layer with about three-quarters of the strawberry compote Add remaining cake batter and then dollops of remaining compote. swirl together with a butter knife
- Bake until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes
- Serve warm with whipped cream
Spoon cake is one of my favorite desserts because of its imperfection. Compared to traditional cake recipes all we’re doing is cutting back flour and adding more of my favorite ingredient. Butter! Serve it fresh from the oven with some homemade whipped cream and hand everyone at the table a spoon and dig in!
Start by making your compote. In this recipe I used strawberries but you can use anything you’d like! Rhubarb or peaches would be great options! Combine the fruit, sugar, lemon zest and juice, and cornstarch in a saucepan. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until a sauce forms. Set the compote aside to cool.
To make the spoon cake, preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Next, whisk together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Set aside and in a separate bowl, combine egg, vanilla, milk and buttermilk. Now slowly mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Butter your pan, preferably a cast-iron skillet and pour in about half of the cake batter.
Layer with the majority of the compote, finish with the remaining cake batter, and add the remaining compote in dollops. Use a butter knife or spoon to swirl the compote and batter in the pan and then place in the oven and bake until golden brown.
While the cake is baking, make some whipped cream by using a mixer to whip a pint of heavy cream, four tablespoons of powdered sugar and a teaspoon vanilla.
If you ask me, this cake can pass and a breakfast or brunch option too! So good!