When I first stated baking for the synagogue, I scoured the internet for cookie recipes that would be incredible but relatively inexpensive. I wanted a citrus cookie, but as our Rabbi is allergic to lemon, I looked for an orange cookie. I found this incredible cookie, and I’ve made it numerous times over the last four or five years.
Fast forward to last year, when a request for Sprinkles Cupcakes’ recipe for Strawberry Cupcakes introduced me to that wonderful recipe, and made me want to replicate it in cookie form. I had leftover strawberry puree, and tried adapting the orange cookie recipe, but my couple of different tries didn’t hit the mark and I moved on from that quest.
Last week I was making the strawberry buttercream from that recipe to frost a white cake, and I found myself again with leftover puree. This time I was craving a loaf cake, and decided to adapt the Whole Orange Cake recipe. The base turned out great, and it’s so simple to make!
Butter and sugar are creamed in the food processor (and it even works with butter straight from the fridge!), strawberries are added and blitzed, and then the rest of the ingredients are whipped in. It comes together in a snap, all in one bowl, and then is ready to doctor.
It can be baked as-is, but my chief taster and friend Sarah and I think the flavor is better when sliced strawberries run through the cake. For one variation, we added some mini chocolate chips to the batter. For another, we put sliced strawberries and turbinado sugar on top. Sarah and I think the ideal has more sliced strawberries inside, some on top with turbinado.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces strawberries, washed and hulled
- 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter
- 5 eggs
- 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 4 -10 ounces strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced (see note)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- scant 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
- up to 1/4 cup turbinado or other coarse sugar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two regular loaf pans or three medium loaf pans (see note) with parchment paper and spray the pans with nonstick spray.
- Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process until it is fully creamed. Add the 12 ounces whole strawberries to the food processor, and process until the strawberries are pureed into the butter and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients, and pulse just until it comes together. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and briefly re-pulse to make sure everything is fully mixed.
- Scrape the batter into a bowl. If desired, leave some slices to decorate the top of the loaves (2 strawberries per loaf works for the medium pans). Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over the rest of the sliced strawberries, and toss to lightly coat. Stir the floured sliced strawberries into the batter, along with the mini chocolate chips if using.
- Divide the batter between the loaf pans and smooth the top. If desired, lay the reserved slices of strawberries on the top of the loaf and/or sprinkle the top with turbinado sugar.
- Bake for around 45 minutes for the medium pans, and probably closer to 1 hour for a regular sized loaf. The loaf is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Notes: I prefer medium loaf pans, because I think the slices are a better width for serving, especially with other sweets, when full-sized loaves are often cut in half. I haven't been able to find "real" pans in this size, so I buy disposable aluminum pans (the medium size is widely available) and just wash and reuse them.
- Slice as many strawberries as you want running through the loaves - the slices with strawberries in them are much better in my opinion than the ones without. Using 4 ounces would be the rest of a standard 1 pound container, but if you have more I highly encourage using them, and some extra to decorate the top.