Fresh Strawberry Cake

This easy strawberry cake recipe doesn’t need frosting, fillings, or multiple layers to be special. The decoration (not to mention bright strawberry flavor) is baked right in. This fuss-free spring dessert is an excellent choice for snacking. You’ll want fresh strawberries—this is not the time for frozen—and if you’re baking this when local berries are in season, all the better. Choose berries with deep red skins and that give off lots of fragrance; that’s how you’ll know they also taste good. For the prettiest cake try to get a pack of berries of all roughly the same size (small ones are best).

The berries are halved and docked on the simple vanilla cake batter, which puffs up around them as it bakes. Don’t be worried if the top of the cake looks a little pale when it comes out of the oven; to give it a rosy glow, you’ll brush warmed strawberry jam over the baked round. The batter gets a dash of almond extract, which complements the cooked fruit flavor of the jam beautifully.

Looking for a different kind of strawberry cake? Gourmet’s recipe for classic Strawberry Shortcakes couldn’t be simpler. For a real showstopper, go for Benjamina Ebuehi’s pretty-in-pink layer cake sandwiched with a buttercream frosting that’s flavored with roasted strawberry purée.