QUICK STRAWBERRY SPOON CAKE

Called a spoon cake as it is served with a spoon, it's more like a dessert rather than a slice of cake. It's also very quick to make and really intensifies the flavour of the strawberries.

Being an egg-free cake it's great for people with egg allergies. The other good news is, there's minimal washing up as the batter is mixed in a saucepan and then baked in a tin, lined with baking paper. Good for cooks with cleaning-up allergies! 

INGREDIENTS FOR 20cm CAKE
TOPPING
250gm strawberries
50gm soft light brown sugar

CAKE BATTER
120gm unsalted butter
50gm soft light brown sugar
125ml milk
160gm self-raising flour
Pinch salt
1tsp vanilla extract

PISTACHIO YOGHURT
350gm Greek yoghurt
20gm pistachio nuts
1Tbsp honey

METHOD

1. Line base and sides of an 18cm cake tin (preferably with removable base), with non-stick baking paper.
2. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
3. Prepare topping. Remove green calyx from all strawberries and discard. Cut strawberries into thin-ish slices, horizontally or vertically.
4. Mix brown sugar with strawberries and set aside.
5. Make batter. Gently melt butter with light brown sugar. Remove from heat, add milk and combine using flat whisk.
6. Add flour to wet mix in saucepan with pinch salt and vanilla, whisk briefly to form smooth batter.
7. Pour into prepared cake tin. Using back of spoon, spread mix out into tin.
8. Tip strawberries with juices onto batter, roughly spread out over surface of batter.
9. Place in oven and bake for 35 minutes or until skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.
10. Mix 1 tablespoon of yoghurt with honey to loosen. Then add remaining yoghurt. Finely chop pistachios and add most to yoghurt reserving a little to scatter on serving.
11. Cool cake in tin on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove onto shallow bowl or plate and pull paper away from sides.
12. Scatter cake with reserved pistachios and serve whilst still warm, using large spoon. Accompany cake with pistachio honey yoghurt.

COOKS NOTES

• A flat whisk is best for making this cake; batter gets trapped inside a balloon whisk. Minimise washing up by make cake batter in saucepan used to melt butter.
• An 20cm cake tin is the perfect size for 6 people and a useful addition to kitchen equipment. Many of my recipes use this size tin.
• To line tin, make a circle of baking paper large enough to come up sides.
• Use other berries when in season, blackberries, mulberries, blueberries, raspberries and chopped raw rhubarb or wedges of stone fruit would also  be good in summer.
• This cake is super quick and easy to make. Best eaten on the day of making, however it does freeze well and re-heats in microwave or in oven.
• Because the cake is served with a spoon, the whole family including young kids can have a go and serve themselves.
• Serve with pouring or dolloping cream, a scoop of ice cream or custard in place of pistachio honey yoghurt.