As delicious as raw summer produce is, cooking and baking it will give you even more use. One way to put it to good use? This simple and festive strawberry corn pop-by cake from Katherine Lewin’s new cookbook, Big Night Out: Dinners, Parties, and Receptions.
“When we think of entertaining, we often think of special occasions or holidays,” Lewin writes. “But what about those times when a friend texts us and says, ‘I’m in the area. Can I come over later this afternoon?’ I would recommend this cake, which is both indulgent and sweet.”
It pairs just as well with vanilla ice cream as it does with Greek yogurt, sour cream, whipped cream, and fresh fruit. Best of all, the cake can be stored at room temperature for up to two days or refrigerated for up to five days, if you feel like baking it ahead of time.
Recipe reproduced with permission from Big Night Out: Dinners, Parties, and Receptions by Katherine Lewin © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © Emma Fishman.
Skillet Blueberry Cornbread
262 calories
11 g fat
36g carbohydrates
4g protein
16g of sugars
Non-stick cooking spray
12 ounces strawberries, hulled and quartered, divided
⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
⅔ cup sour cream or plain, full-fat Greek yogurt, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup medium-grind cornmeal
2 teaspoons of yeast
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Coat a 9-inch round or square cake pan or springform pan with cooking spray. If using a round pan, line the bottom with parchment paper. If using a square pan, leave a little parchment paper overhanging the edges.
2. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup strawberries and 2 tablespoons sugar. Let macerate.
3. In a large bowl, combine butter and remaining sugar and, using a hand mixer, beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. With mixer on medium speed, beat eggs, one at a time, until creamy and combined. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until just combined. Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt, then beat on low speed until just combined (some flour streaks will remain). Switch to a spatula or wooden spoon and stir in remaining unmacerated strawberries and corn until just combined.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Pour the macerated strawberries and all their juice on top of the batter, then sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake the cake, rotating the pan halfway through, until puffed, golden brown, and pulling away from the sides of the pan, 60 to 70 minutes. (A toothpick inserted in the center should come out just slightly moist.) Let cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and serve warm or cool completely, about 2 hours.
