Strawberry Spoon Cake Recipe (2024)

By Jerrelle Guy

Strawberry Spoon Cake Recipe (1)

Total Time
30 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
5(9,390)
Notes
Read community notes

This unfussy cake with a top layer of jammy strawberries is so gooey it’s best to serve the whole thing with a spoon. The batter comes together quickly with minimal effort, using basic pantry ingredients and a small handful of berries — frozen or fresh. If you’re using frozen, be sure to defrost them in the microwave first. Extract as much juice as possible from the fruit by macerating and mashing it, so that it lends the cake additional moisture while baking. Add a dash of freshly ground cardamom or ground ginger on top before baking it off, if you like, or some ribbons of fresh basil once it’s hot out of the oven. Whatever embellishments you decide on, burrowing warm spoonfuls of this cake beside scoops of vanilla ice cream is the most important thing.

Featured in: Sweet, Tender and Studded With Strawberries

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have

    10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers.

    Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Print Options

    Include recipe photo

Advertisem*nt

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted, plus more for greasing
  • 5ounces/145 grams frozen and thawed or fresh, hulled strawberries (about 1 cup)
  • cup/150 grams packed light brown sugar
  • ½cup/120 milliliters whole milk, at room temperature
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1cup/130 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

529 calories; 26 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 43 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 367 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Strawberry Spoon Cake Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch (square or round) baking dish with butter. Set aside.

  2. Using your hands or the back of a fork, mash the berries to release all their juices, and stir in ⅓ cup of the brown sugar. Set aside.

  3. Step

    3

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, remaining ⅓ cup brown sugar, milk and salt, then add the flour and baking powder and continue whisking just until the batter is smooth. Transfer the batter (it’s not much) to the greased baking dish, and spread evenly into corners.

  4. Step

    4

    Spoon the strawberries and all their juices over the top of the cake batter. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or just when a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 to 5 minutes before spooning into bowls. Serve warm with ice cream.

Ratings

5

out of 5

9,390

user ratings

Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

Sara James

I ate this whole thing by myself. All of it.

Mary Alford

This is a riff on an old fashioned recipe called “Essies Cobbler”. I recommend melting the butter in the pan while the oven is preheating (leaving a bit in the pan and putting the batter in the hot pan create a lovely chewy crust) and also increasing the amount of fruit which can be any juicy fruit - peaches, blueberries, etc.

annsch

This was a delicious easy dessert. I chopped 1 up of fresh rhubarb and simmered it with the 1/3 c. Brown sugar, when it was softened I added the strawberries.We are huge strawberry rhubarb fans, this might be better than our family pie recipe!

Faded elegance

I browned the butter. Misread the recipe and heated oven only to 325. After 20 minutes discovered the error. Increased temp to 350 and baked for 15 mins more. Absolutely fabulous! The strawberries were caramelized, and the cake had a beautiful color and texture. I will never use Julia’s clafoutis recipe again, and I intend to make my temp/timing mistake each time I bake this. Plus browning the butter added so much umami. Almost as good the next morning at room temp with coffee. A real keeper.

Caroline

I have some nectarines that need to be used. Do you think it would work in place of the strawberries?

Klom

This is the first time I felt the need to add a comment after several years of happily trying NYT recipes. Expected this to be a little heavy and wet but it is the airiest cake - and also moist! Needless to say this came out great. Followed the recipe with some extras - grated fresh young ginger roots to the strawberry-sugar mix, zested lemons and added 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste into the wet ingredients before adding the dry ingredients. Am in Bangkok. Will use ripe mangoes next time.

Mark

I’ve made versions of this recipe before; it’s basically a clafouti, a French cake. The first version I made years ago was from a Jane Brody cookbook. Any fruit is good in it. I’ve used blueberries, tart cherries, peaches and strawberries, solo or mixed together.

Sean

The big distinction being that clafoutis is very egg rich and this cake interestingly enough has no eggs.

Summer

My family inhaled this in one sitting! We used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour and fresh-picked strawberries. Served it warm with strawberry ice cream (made from scratch also with our garden berries). What a summer treat!

Faith

My grandmother taught me this recipe over 50 years ago. She called it Lazy Woman’s Cobbler. I still use that recipe and alternate the spices related to the fruit and season. So easy to make and take to family and friends. I tried this recipe as written worked perfectly.

Liana

I just made a version of this (with rhubarb) where the last step before oven involves sprinkling top with another 1/2 cup of white sugar and then pouring a 3/4 cup of heavy cream over the top of everything (use a deeper pan). Cream intermingles with the cake, fruit, and sugar to make a golden-brown custard-y topping. We still had the ice cream.

Lu

I made this with fresh cherries (I used 22, cut in half after removing the pits) and added a drop of almond extract to the cherry/sugar mix. Delicious !!!

Mary

lulzI love my baked goods with poisons.

Kathleen Russell

DON’T MAKE THIS CAKE! It is highly addicting.

Sharon Lansing

NYT Notes:- This is a riff on an old fashioned recipe called “Essies Cobbler”. I recommend melting the butter in the pan while the oven is preheating (leaving a bit in the pan and putting the batter in the hot pan create a lovely chewy crust) and also increasing the amount of fruit which can be any juicy fruit - peaches, blueberries, etc.- Chop 1 up of fresh rhubarb and simmered it with the 1/3 c. Brown sugar, when it was softened I added the strawberries.

Adrienne

I made this with King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure flour and cut back the amount of brown sugar in the berries and batter by almost half, and it turned out great.

Robin

Followed this to the letter, and it came out like a cookie or tart... not cake at all. I wonder if baking powder is old? Cannot imagine any other reason.

dylan

Added blueberries also, more than called for - cooked twice as long (35-40mins)

JeanO

It definitely takes longer to cook—a total of 30 minutes in my electric oven, in a square Pyrex baker.

Liesel

Simply. The. Best. Enough said.

margie

Amazingly simple and delicious!

Dee

Easy and very tasty but also extremely sweet - especially when adding ice cream. I think 1/3 C sugar total would be more than enough.

ES

Have been dreaming about this recipe for 3 years but never made it until today. Used frozen blueberries, cut the sugar to 1/3 of a cup, and added 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger just because I wanted to. The biscuit texture is light, fluffy, gooey where the fruit juice pools…absolutely swoon-worthy. And the whole thing took 30 minutes, start to finish. I’m going to make this cake with every fruit under the sun.

termeh

Would this work in a cupcake tin? I loved this recipe and it’s simplicity. Hoping to recreate it in personal serving sizes.

katie

Notes from a new baker! Would love to have seen in instructions:- whisk dry ingredients first. I imagine a more experienced person would have known to do that without explicitly being told, but noobs read instructions very literally. Biting into a pocket of BP was not fun. - mash strawberries partially but not so they’re too small and runny. I didn’t look at the picture while I was baking, so only relying on the written instructions, I did too much mashing, which made the topping watery.

j

possibly my favorite cake recipe of all time

Jane Eyrehead

I add a little vanilla or almond flavor and it is so easy and good. Everyone likes it.

Sunita

I made this for Diwali. It was an absolute hit and sooooo delicious. I added some vanilla. That’s it! Make this, you’ll love it.

JR

A lovely, easy way to please your loved ones. I added this icing https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015540-cream-cheese-frosting (halved the recipe) and got rave reviews

Rise K

I made this with 1/2 cup white flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal, and 1/4 cup spelt. I’m at 5,000 feet. I started it at 375 degrees for 10 minutes and reduced the heat to 350. Still had to bake it about 15 minutes longer than the directions indicated. It’s nice. We are having it for breakfast.

Private notes are only visible to you.

Strawberry Spoon Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a strawberry spoon? ›

This strawberry spoon cake is sort of a mix of a spoonbread, a pudding cake, and a biscuit all in one! It's then topped with delicious strawberries for an easy, home-style dessert. It's better to err on the side of under-baking this cake rather than over-baking, as it's meant to have a soft center.

How long will strawberries last on a cake? ›

Storage Tips

You do need to refrigerate a cake with cream cheese frosting. Without the optional sliced fresh strawberries added, this cake will last in the refrigerator for 5 days. Sliced fresh strawberries will last in a cake for 3 days in the refrigerator.

How do you keep strawberries from getting soggy on cakes? ›

How do you keep strawberry filling from making the cake soggy? A thin layer of frosting between the cake and the strawberry filling will help block moisture from seeping into the cake below. The frosting acts as a barrier.

How do you keep fruit from making cake soggy? ›

Toss the fruit in a little flour before adding it to the batter. Use 2-3 tablespoons to coat the fruit thoroughly, then gently fold it into the cake batter right before you pour it into the pan or patty pans.

What is a cake spoon? ›

The Cake Spoon is an elegant wooden eating utensil, perfectly suited for cake and small snacks. Pair it with the Cake Fork for a matching cutlery set.

What are tiny dessert spoons called? ›

Demitasse spoon — diminutive, smaller than a coffee spoon; for traditional coffee drinks in specialty cups and for spooning cappuccino froth. Dessert spoon — intermediate in size between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, used in eating dessert and sometimes soup or cereals.

Should a cake with strawberries be refrigerated? ›

A ganache-covered chocolate cake with buttercream frosting can remain at room temperature, but a cream cake with a fresh fruit filling should stay in the refrigerator.

Can you put fresh strawberries on top of cake? ›

Using a paring knife, slice the strawberries lengthwise to between ⅛-inch and ¼-inch thickness. Place strawberries on the cake with their points facing out. Starting from the outside perimeter of the cake, place a ring of strawberries (flat-side down) with the points facing out.

Does sugar make strawberries last longer? ›

Halved Strawberries + Sugar, lasts 8-12 months

You don't want to end up with overly sweet strawberries that you can't eat. Our suggestion is to mix 1/4 cup of sugar for every 10 ounces of berries.

Why is my strawberry cake so dense? ›

Your cake is too dense A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought).

Can I put strawberries on a cake the day before? ›

Cakes With Fresh Berries

To work ahead, you can always frost the final layer of the buttercream, add any ganache drips, and store the cake overnight in the refrigerator. Then finish the rest of the decorating the day the cake is due to keep those berries looking fresh.

Why do strawberries get mushy so fast? ›

Strawberries absorb water quickly. Once the surfaces are saturated, they'll quickly turn to mush or grow moldy. Wait to clean strawberries until just before you're ready to use them. Rinse the berries quickly in cold water, and handle them very gently.

Can you put strawberries in between cake layers? ›

If you are making something like a classic sponge cake or angel food cake with layers of whipped cream and strawberries, I would simply slice them and leave them raw. If you are filling a stacked and frosted cake, I would cook them down to a more jammy consistancy. You can puree it to make it smooth if desired.

Why does my fruit always sink to the bottom of my cake? ›

The light flour coating helps the fruit to 'stick' to the cake mixture better, stopping them from sinking. If you are using fruit such as glace cherries or larger fruits such as apple, you will need to halve or quarter them before dusting with flour, as if left whole they will be too large and will sink.

Can you put fresh fruit on a cake the day before? ›

Timing: If you want to use fresh fruit as a cake topping, it's best to add the fruit shortly before serving the cake. This helps to prevent the fruit from releasing excess moisture and causing the cake to become soggy.

What is a strawberry fork used for? ›

This petite fork, which typically boasts two or three tines, was used solely for dipping strawberries into different condiments such as powdered sugar or whipped cream.

What is a fruit spoon used for? ›

specially designed to be used while having fruits and fruit dishes. Fruit spoons are also used to eat fruit items and appetizers. They are of a size 5.5" to 6".

What is a silver spoon slang? ›

When a person is described as "born with a silver spoon in his mouth," it means that his family is very wealthy, and he is likely to lead a privileged life. If you picture a baby eating mashed bananas from a tiny spoon, this saying will make sense to you.

What is a silver berry spoon? ›

The gilding of the bowl in this was all-important, for it protected the silver from the acidic fruit juices. Spoons with elaborate bowl displays of berries or fruits are referred to generically as “berry spoons”, even though they almost inevitably show displays of fruits.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Dean Jakubowski Ret

Last Updated:

Views: 6745

Rating: 5 / 5 (70 voted)

Reviews: 85% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Dean Jakubowski Ret

Birthday: 1996-05-10

Address: Apt. 425 4346 Santiago Islands, Shariside, AK 38830-1874

Phone: +96313309894162

Job: Legacy Sales Designer

Hobby: Baseball, Wood carving, Candle making, Jigsaw puzzles, Lacemaking, Parkour, Drawing

Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.