From theguardian.com
A big, flat, summery cake spread with strawberries and custard? It might well be the best cake ever …
Considering the love we English have for strawberries, I am stumped trying to think of more than three puddings that contain them. This is my attempt to bolster the coffers: a strawberry “sheet cake” borrowed from one of my favourite food writers, Deb Perelman, and her blog, Smitten Kitchen. I made this vegan version for my daughter Yogi’s birthday, adding a little fennel sugar to the top, and she declared it the best cake ever (although she is three and admittedly has previously declared five other cakes also to be the best cake ever).
Summer strawberry cake with luxury Bird’s custard
The Bird’s custard element has been given a bit of the razzle-dazzle treatment with whipped cream and creme fraiche, and is much better for it; if you don’t want to make it, serve with good vegan vanilla ice-cream instead – Jude’s makes a great one.
Prep 10 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 8
For the cake
175ml whole oat milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
¾ tsp fennel seeds, ground
200g caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp extra for sprinkling on top
250g self-raising flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
125ml rapeseed oil
600-700g ripe strawberries, halved
For the custard
1½ tbsp (17g) custard powder – I use Bird’s
1 tbsp (17g) caster sugar
250g vegan whipping cream – I use Oatly
75g vegan creme fraiche – again, I use Oatly
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Grease and line a 22cm x 32cm baking tray (ie, a standard American nine-inch x 13-inch baking sheet) with greaseproof paper.
Pour the oat milk and cider vinegar into a medium bowl and put to one side.
Make some spiced sugar to top the cake by mixing the ground fennel seeds and two tablespoons of caster sugar, then set aside.
Put the flour, bicarb, 200g caster sugar and salt in a large bowl, and whisk to combine.
Stir the vanilla paste and rapeseed oil into the oat-milk-and-vinegar mix, then pour into the flour mixture and mix well. Spoon on to the lined tin, shake the tin, then give it a couple of sharp taps on a work surface to settle the batter and release any air bubbles.
Place (rather than push) the strawberries on top of the batter, arranging them toe to toe and trying to fit on as many as you can. Sprinkle over the spiced sugar, then bake for 30 minutes, until the sponge is golden and a sharp knife inserted into the middle comes out clean (it’s OK if it has some strawberry juice on it).
While the cake is baking, make up the custard. Mix the custard powder, sugar and two tablespoons of the cream in a small saucepan, whisking to remove any lumps, then mix in the rest of the cream. Bring the custard mix to a gentle boil, then take off the heat. Leave to cool to room temperature, then put in the fridge to chill – to prevent a skin from forming on the top of the custard, cover the surface of the custard with a circle of greaseproof paper just touching the top of it.
When you’re ready to serve, mix the creme fraiche into the custard mix, then serve with slices of the cake.
Meera Sodha’s summer strawberry cake with luxury Bird's custard. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian
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