Simple Strawberry Sponge Cake

Strawberry cake: an easy, delectable, strawberry filled cake! Perfect for when you’re running short on time, but want something sweet and spongy from the oven. 

(BOSANSKI)

There are days when I like nothing more but to experiment with new ingredients. Try out different cuisines. Be on top of my cooking game, so to speak.

But there are also days when I’m not up to making anything. This entire week has been one of those days. Just as the spring finally broke through the winter’s strong grip and the blossom proliferated, the last bit of wet and heavy snow surprised us destroying most of the greenery.

In the words of a woman I know “I didn’t even get to smell the lilacs!”

(As any (even a tiny bit) experienced cook knows, when you cook but you’re not in the mood to cook, the food doesn’t come out well. In those instances, if you must cook, if you really must, go for a simple dish. Something true and tried.)

On days like these I crave something sweet. Simple. Something to liven up the soul. This time, I reached for a version of this plain, but incredibly flavorful fruit (in our case strawberry) sponge cake. In my own mini-revolution of sorts, I tricked the winter by snatching the last bit of local strawberries at a stand before it returned with a vengeance.

So what’s this sponginess all about?

It’s the most basic cake you can think of. It’s made of some eggs. Flour. Some milk. A little bit of baking powder. Similarly to bread, this is a basic ingredient cake.  Again similarly to bread, this simplicity allows it to take on whatever personality you’d like it to have. It’s the little black dress of cakes, where it’s on you to accessorize it as you wish.

You can make this cake with blueberries. Soak it in simple syrup if you want. If you’re into layers, make a filling and you got a proper tiered cake. Endless possibilities exist.

But I like it just like this. A spongy, fruit filled, slice of sweet that I top with whipped cream and more fruit.

And in the words of another woman “I’m sitting by the wood stove, eating strawberries.”