Strawberry Corn Cake - Surprisingly Tasty!

It has to be one of my favorite parts of Spring...biting into a juicy, red, ripened strawberry.  Believe me, I can, and will, devour them directly from the patch...no washing necessary!  Growing up, we lived right down the road from Brooks' Farm Strawberries.  Almost every year, my mom or grandmother would take us to pick our own.  I vividly remember my younger sister eating her weight in strawberries before ever even leaving the patch, covering herself in red juice from head to toe.  My grandmother always picked enough to put in her freezer so that we could have fresh strawberry shortcakes year round.  Mom always put sugar over them after they were sliced, and put them in the fridge for later.  Or, we would put them in our Frosted Flakes on Saturday mornings, back when good cartoons were still on TV on the weekends.

My grandmother, who's birthday happens to be right in the middle of strawberry season, turned 91 this year.  She is currently in the hospital, going through rehab for Neuropothy, which is a condition that affects the nerves in her arms and legs.  She was unable to enjoy her birthday at home, so we brought the birthday to her!  We made German Johnson tomato sandwiches (her favorite), and for dessert, we had strawberry short cakes.  My mom purchased some local fresh strawberries, tossed them with sugar, and put them over the little yellow cake cups that you get in the grocery store.  We topped them with whipped cream, and a candle, and voila!, birthday cake!  It really brightened her day! It's amazing what something as simple as food can do for the soul! 

A flat of Strawberries

I still make a point every year to buy at least one flat of the already picked berries.  They only cost me $10.00, and it saves me the trouble of picking them myself, usually eating more than I actually bring home.  I am satisfied doing that, at least until we have kids of our own :). I mean, when you're a kid, the best part is sitting down in the red dirt, smearing strawberry juice all over yourself, dragging a bucket of plump, ripe berries behind you, right?

Ooozing red goodness!

Now when I get home with this flat of berries, I always pick out the ripest ones and eat them right then...they are so irresistible! Then I stick the rest of them in my fridge until I decide which delicious recipe to utilize them in, if I don't eat them all first. This year I decided on a strawberry corn cake.  I simply took my corn cake recipe and revised it a little bit.  Since it is already a sweet, moist, and tender cake, why not add strawberries and turn it into a dessert?  It is definitely a surprisingly delicious spring time treat.  While the cake is baking, the juices from the strawberries become bubbly patches of oozing goodness, just waiting to be eaten!

Strawberry Corn Cake

Yummy, warm, soft, gooey center...

3/4 c. yellow cornmeal
3/4 c. white cornmeal
2 1/2 c. milk
2 c. all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 c. thinly sliced strawberries

Couldn't wait for the first bite!!!

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch pan, or 2 8x8 pans (You can freeze one, and have one to eat now).

2.  Combine both kinds of cornmeal and milk and let stand for 10 minutes.  Do not stir.  This is key to the tenderness of the cornbread, and keeps it from being grainy.

3.   In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil, and whisk until smooth.  Fold in the sliced strawberries.

 4.  Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

While waiting for the cake to come out of the oven, I searched and searched my cupboard for something sweet and delicious to top it all off with.  I didn't have any whipping cream to whip, or even any vanilla ice cream to scoop on top.  I was a little disappointed at first, until I ran across Grandma Dalton's homemade blackberry ice cream.  I didn't think twice about it, and on top it went, drizzling down the sides of the warm, steamy cake.  Not only is it the best blackberry ice cream in the world, but it is the ice cream she made especially for me last month for my 30th birthday.  When I sat down with this plate full of goodness, it felt like my birthday all over again!  Try it, and you'll see why!

Sadly enough, this is all that was left of my afternoon treat...