Strawberry Summer Cake


 * 6 tablespoons butter (plus extra to grease the pie plate), at room temperature
 * 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
 * 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
 * 1/2 teaspoon table salt
 * 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
 * 1 large egg
 * 1/2 cup milk
 * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 * 1 pound strawberries, hulled (or whatever) and halved [you can substitute other berries, such as blueberries or cherries, for the strawberries or as a mix with strawberries)

Preheat oven to 350°F

Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (what I used). Smaller than that and you'll get spillage.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.

Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer, a little overlap is ok. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes ta 350, then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes.

Let cool in pan on a rack. Serve with whipped cream.