Quick, Eggless, (and Totally from Scratch) Strawberry Cake

My first attempt at this was an utter failure.  I substituted sour cream for the eggs, added some extra baking powder, macerated the strawberries before I pureed them. I really tried to jazz it up.  The batter tasted like strawberry ice cream.  I thought I was on to something, but then... It didn't rise, not even by a hair.  I had a strawberry brick.

This time around I thought I needed to employ the K*I*S*S strategy-Keep It Simple Stupid.  I started with a simple busy day cake recipe and just substituted a simple strawberry puree for the eggs with a little extra baking powder and ta-dah: Success!  The cake rose nicely and had actual (not fake) strawberry flavor through out.  It isn't that strawberry pink color that the boxed mix is, but that didn't bother me.  All that comes from artificial junk, none of which is in this cake, and isn't that part of the point of doing things from scratch.  I didn't bother to ice it, but I am sure a little strawberry cream cheese frosting would turn this simple cake into something special.  I saved this for a book club meeting a couple days later and used it as the base of strawberry shortcake.  It was a big hit!

I am sure you could double this as well and turn it into a nice layer cake.  I am also thinking about all the fruit possibilities: peach, apricot, raspberry... If you experiment and have success let me know.

Quick, Eggless, (and Totally from Scratch) Strawberry Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup fresh strawberries halved
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl.  Puree the strawberries. My 1 cup of halved strawberries turned into just over a 1/4 cup of puree.  Add milk, butter, vanilla, and 1/4 cup of strawberry puree to the bowl. (If you have an extra teaspoon or two of puree go ahead and that too. Any more than that and save it for something else, like frosting.)  Beat with an elictric mixer on low until the mixture is combined.  Then beat on medium for one minute.  Pour into a greased and floured 8 inch cake pan.  I also like to put parchment in the bottom, so it releases more easily.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle come out clean.  Cool for five minutes and remove from pan and cool thoroughly before frosting, if you desire

ENJOY!