Strawberries make me restless.
It’s a fact. Yes, a strange fact, but no less true.
See, in my part of the world, strawberries come along every year right around May. This is around the time when I’ve loooooong ago let slide any New Year’s resolutions I might have made for myself, when it’s possible that I’ve slacked a bit on my workout routine, and the goal of reading a chapter of a book a night before I fall asleep has somehow transferred into watching an old episode of House every night before I pass out.
Don’t even get me started on the mania that I try to pass off as my closet. It’s not pretty.
So…. strawberries come along at a time of year when I’ve cemented in some slightly lazy and ooooooh so comfortable habits for myself.
I don’t know how or why this works, but strawberries inspire me to shake my world up a bit, maybe introduce something new, maybe hop on one leg every morning just for the hell of it…. whatever. This is the time of year when I change things up a bit.
This year, strawberries have inspired me to do two things: learn Italian and combine fresh strawberries with one of my favorite cakes of all time…. streusel topped coffee cake.
Let’s do this.
Now seems like a good time to admit that you could put streusel topping on just about anything and I’d devour it with few regrets. Please don’t let that take away from how crazy awesome this strawberry coffee cake is. Moist sour cream coffee cake is mixed with cooked down fresh strawberries and topped with streusel topping. It’s both lovely ad humble, and just the perfect little cake to sit with in front of my computer as I work my way through Italian flash cards.
Strawberry Coffee Cake
inspired by Panache at Rose Hill
1 heaping cup sliced strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a few drops of almond extract (optional)
Topping:
3 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the topping:
Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly. Set aside.
To make the strawberry mixture:
Combine strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar, water and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce is thickened and strawberries are soft and somewhat broken down. Set aside to cool.
Grease and flour a 10×10-inch baking dish, knocking out excess flour, and set aside.
To make the coffee cake:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, and almond extract if you’re using it.
Sift dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter in 3 parts alternating with the sour cream in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just until combined.
Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the cooled strawberry mixture over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter onto the strawberries and spread evenly. Top with streusel topping and bake in the upper third of the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
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Hi Joy,
this sounds delish! do u think i could use fresh sour cherries (with a little more sugar i guess) instead of strawberries in this recipe? i have a box i need to use up…i so hope you’ll say yes!
Cheers,
Shipra from Bombay, India
Hi Joy,
I just want to say what a great pleasure it is to read this blog. It inspires me when I’m ready to throw in the towel because everything is just so gorgeous and delicious. Can’t wait to try this cake either. LIke you, I’ve broken my good resolutions and I’m still messy and disorganised. But surely if you can make a cake like this, it can’t be all bad. Good luck with Italian.
Oh my !
looks gorgeous !
Do you think I can try with raspberries ?
Io spero che impari e parli molto italiano! Buona fortuna, Joy! :)
so you guys want to use other fruits!? well…. raspberries and cherries sound like they would work, but you’ll have to give it a whirl and let me know. happy baking!
memoria- i actually understood that! grazie mille!
This looks totally amazing.
P.S. I bet my closet looks worse than yours! ;o)
Looks and sounds delicious!
what a wonderful combo! Two of my favorite foods , strawberries and sour cream coffee cake together in one treat! thanks!
What a beautiful combination! I am sure after having a slice of this, you can blabber in Italian hehe :)
Thanks for using my grandmother’s cookbook! I heart you.
That looks scrumptious! And yay you for learning Italian and shaking up a golden standard!
I’ve got strawberries. I’ve got sour cream. I’ve got work tomorrow where people will love eating this cake.
Off to the kitchen I go! :)
That looks so divine. I love Strawberry Bread but the coffee cake sounds so much better. i am going to make you Southern Style Strawberry Cake this month I cant wait.
That looks and sounds delicious!
Joy,
Do you have any suggestions for the perfect picnic/bbq dessert? It’s hot as you know what and we won’t have refrigeration. I’m probably making your oatmeal cookies but also looking for something citrusy, berry-ish, or summer inspired. Brownies are also an option but I’m thinking something lighter. Any ideas?
Thanks <3
PS…I already have plans for this coffee cake :-)
Oh my stars!! Thank you for another spectacular recipe, Joy! Your posts are always so bubbly and sunny … um, I’d like to say full of joy, if that isn’t redundant!
Tartine in SF, my favorite bakery ever!, has made something similar to this in the past if I remember correctly. I’m not a big fan of baked strawberries, but this looks divine.
By the way, I find that Iron Chef is a great show to fall asleep to. Consequently, I’ve had many a dream about shark head pizza.
is this combined with a planned trip to italy?! it should be, just in case you’re still pondering it ;) and if you are, i’d be happy to give you all sorts of info on roma! i did my study-abroad there and hope to move there permanently someday….
ps: the cake looks delicious!
Very pretty! This is one I need to try!
Oh man. This one I have to try. Except I have no time. If anyone wants to make it and mail me a piece, feel free.
I’ll be waiting.
It all looks lovely Joy! And I find that sumer comes at the best time ever, right in the middle of the year when you are needing some more motivation for all things. Love, life, friendships, etc. It’s time for longer nights, brighter days, and bigger smiles. That’s a motto I need to pick up ASAP!
This looks fabulous! I will have to give it a try.
Looks wonderful! Can it be made in a 9×9 or 8×8 dish? What would the baking time be?
This looks delicious. I saw your tweet and have been anxiously awaiting a recipe to use up some of the half-flat of strawberries I bought this weekend. Not that I can’t just gobble them plain, but I try to mix it up a bit for my family. Thanks.
GREAT! Now I have make this! I’m going upstate this weekend to OrchardLand. There’s no way I”m not coming home with a 100,000 strawberries now.
This is not great news for the pre-vacation diet, but I will do it for you, Joy. A belated gift for your birthday. Come to Queens and we’ll have a party..Strawberry Shortcake-themed, of course.
-Sarah
What a way to do the morning. This looks superb.
Thank you for the awesome recipe! I happen to have some strawberries, I think I will try it this afternoon! I love reading your blog! It’s so fun and cheery! Thanks!
Joy, this looks delicious!
Yum and yum.
Hello Joy, this looks delicious–thank you so much! I have fairly recently stumbled upon your site, and think you are absolutely delightful. Thank you for bringing many smiles to my day.
I look forward to baking this. Yummy! Grazie mille!
Joy – That sounds fantastic! And I happen to have ALL of the ingredients for once. Can’t wait to make it!
I’m afraid you’ve caught me procrastinating- I should be studying for my Italian final! Mille grazie per la ricetta!
Seriously, that is MY kind of cake, I can’t even tell you. Bravo! Can’t wait to try this one!
Gorgeous! I just bought armfuls of strawberries at my Farmers’ Market yesterday. Perfect timeing.
Now that’s an amazing coffee cake! Great idea to use strawberries, it looks very addictive!
Strawberries in my neck of the woods (which I don’t think is very far from your neck!) have been around since March or April, but they are still going strong. But this looks fabulous, and maybe I’ll sacrifice some precious strawberries for the cake. Mmm.
Bellisimo! (My Italian, not so great)
A must try!
I love the 1 cup picture! So cute.
What a yummy looking cake!!
This looks sooo good! :)
This looks so delicious. I live in an area that grows massive amounts of strawberries, lots of avocados and lemons and oranges too. The neighboring town has a yearly strawberry festival.
We’re clearly in the same frame of mind. Closet? Tragedy. Stack of books by the bed? Dusty. Strawberries? Macerating in wine and sugar as I type. :)
Yum! thanks for sharing. My husband suggested I make this today with some berries.
(I have to modify this a bit because I took the strawberries we picked yesterday and let them macerate overnight before cooking them down this morning into a pseudo-jam. Since we have loads of jam in the house, I’ll toss it into your coffee cake. mmmm.)
WOW – I’m from Montgomery and I used to make my dad take me to that restaurant every time I visited! It makes me so happy to see someone cooking their food. I didn’t even know they had a cookbook, I’ll definitely give this recipe a try.
joy. i love you. when i clicked on your site today the picture took a second to load and all i saw were the words strawberry coffee cake and i was immediately swoony. then the picture loaded and i was done. you’re the best.
Hello Joy!
I am totally going to make the cake this weekend. Drooling as I type….
In your recipe you mentioned sugar twice (1/3 cup and 1 cup)…did you mean to do that??
Oh never mind! Ignore my question…I understand now..sorry!
This looks exceptionally good! I love the uniqueness of strawberries in coffee cake, and it’s such a perfect time of year for this posting. When you start learning Italian, let me know and we can talk about fragole and other food things. Good luck!
I will definitely be trying this recipe out!! It looks divine!!
Wow, this looks delicious! I think I might put it on my baking list, but switch it up and make a blueberry version. Sadly, the only blueberries I can buy here in Central America are dried or super-pricey frozen, but I’m sure it will be great!
Ohh my! This looks simply delightful! Coffee and strawberries together? It’s like a dream come true!
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