Summer Raspberry Cake

Many years ago I planted a raspberry patch in our back field. AJ, my oldest son, has always loved fruit, always. So, one day I got the bright idea to rototill a patch of prairie grass and plant it with a row of raspberries. I had romantic visions of my kids sneaking out to the raspberry patch during the lazy days of summer and stuffing their faces with plump red berries. Um, never happened. Sure, they will eat ’em if you put them in front of them, but the idea of actually going out and getting them yourself, was apparent craziness. 

Planting this patch was not a particularly easy feat either as it turned out and it took me a few tries to get my original row of about two dozen plants to take.

Many, many years later I have an absolutely huge patch of very healthy berries. Only problem is,  I don’t have AJ to eat them, or anyone else. I love raspberries but I only love them fresh, I’m not that fussed on raspberry flavoured things like jam or jellies. I do freeze a bunch every year for smoothies but most of them end up going to a friend who comes several times a season to clean up my patch.

This year I am going to make some raspberry vinegar and every year, at least once, I do make this wonderful raspberry cake.

This recipe was given to me by our friend Joanne, who got it from a community cookbook put together by a group of longtime summer residents who have cabins in the Shuswap valley. I have long since tossed the original photocopy of the page from the book so do not remember who’s recipe it actually was. It is one of my favourites though. Perfect as a coffee cake, or as a summer dessert with a little ice cream or whipping cream it is a great way to finish off a light dinner as the sun goes down.

I had to make this cake twice this week, so sad. The first one got hacked up into the most bizarre shape by a large hungry snacker who shall remain unnamed and was rendered unusable for photographing. So, I had to make another.

I favour simple recipes and this one fits the bill. Easy to whip together cake batter, topped with fresh berries and a brown sugar, butter and flour mix sprinkled over the top. 

One of the nice things about this recipe (unless you need a piece to photograph) is that it only makes a small cake. For me this is a bonus. It is a nice treat but it does not make so much that you are eating a whole bunch of it for days.

Summer Raspberry Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 6

Author: www.miasdailydish.com

Simple white cake with fresh raspberry and brown sugar topping. The perfect way to end a light summer meal.

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Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 C flour
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 C buttermilk*
• 1/3 C melted butter cooled
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

For the topping

• 1 1/2 C fresh raspberries
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 Tbsp softened butter

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 375°
2. Grease an 8" square baking pan

For the cake

1. Mix all dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl
2. Mix all wet ingredients into a small bowl
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir well to make a smooth batter
4. Pour your batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly. The batter will only be about 1/2" in the bottom of the pan.

For the topping

1. Mix brown sugar, flour and softened butter with a fork or pastry cutter until butter is mixed in well but the mixture is still crumbly
2. Gently distribute the raspberries over the top of the batter, spacing them out evenly
3. sprinkle brown sugar topping evenly over the berries
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes until nicely browned.

Recipe Notes

* I never have buttermilk so I always use just milk or cream with about 1/2 tsp plain vinegar mixed in