While I’m known to make showy desserts with lots of layers, complicated fillings or a million ingredients… I actually prefer simple desserts. This recipe was in the June issue of Gourmet magazine, and it immediately caught my attention. After Smitten Kitchen posted about it, I knew I needed to give it a try. I brought along on my Barefoot Contessa themed picnic with my friends Steph and Brad.
The ingredients are simple, I didn’t have to shop for anything – you could swap any kind of berry for raspberries, use whatever is cheapest and most seasonal. Come to think of it, peaches or plums would be a nice option too. My favorite thing is that instead of fussing with icing you sprinkle the top with granulated sugar just before popping in the oven. It results in a beautiful crystalline crust that compliments the golden color of the cake.
The recipe makes one smallish cake, enough for about 6-8 people. It is best at room temperature and I wouldn’t recommend making it too far ahead of time, it goes stale faster than cakes sealed with icing.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (I used lime zest, because thats what I had on hand)
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.
At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.
Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.
