Black Bean Brownies

When I’m looking for new recipes to try, I usually go for the ones that do not make use of fancy or unusual ingredients. I also try and stay away from recipes that seem too “healthy” to taste good.  I’ve wanted to make brownies with black beans for a long time but was a bit skeptical about how they would turn out. Then I found this recipe on Meal Makeover Moms. With so many positive comments, it seemed like the perfect recipe to try. Black beans are pureed and used instead of flour here. I tweaked the recipe a bit and this is what I used-

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed well
• 3 Tbsp oil
• 2 eggs
• ¾ -1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp orange extract (or 1 Tbsp fresh orange zest)
• 2 tsp instant coffee granules (I used Nescafe)
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts (reserve a handful for sprinkling on top of the batter)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line an 8 x 8- inch baking dish with foil and grease well.

Place the drained and rinsed black beans in the bowl of a food processor and puree till smooth.

Add the oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, coffee granules, orange extract, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder, and process until everything is combined well.  Throw in the chocolate chips and toasted hazelnuts and pulse a couple of times to incorporate them into the batter.

Dump the batter into the greased baking pan and spread as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the remaining hazelnuts over the top.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until done.

Cool completely before slicing. I refrigerated the brownies for an hour before cutting them into squares.

I was expecting very “beany” brownies but was pleasantly surprised by the taste. Had I not made these myself, I would never have guessed that black beans formed the base of the recipe. I’m glad I added the coffee powder, orange extract and toasted hazelnuts- they gave the brownies so much flavor. I don’t think I’ll add the vanilla extract if I make these again- I could hardly taste it. While these brownies do not taste like the ones made with flour and have a slightly different texture, they are pretty good considering that they're made with beans.  They taste even better a day after they’re baked. I took a batch in to work and no one could tell that they were made with beans. 

Avocado Brownies

I make brownies regularly and have tried a lot of brownie recipes over the years.  This was my go-to recipe for the longest time until I tried Dorie Greenspan's recipe. I borrowed Baking: From My Home to Yours  from my library sometime last year and came across Dorie’s  Classic Brownies. I've made her brownies several times in the last few months, adding my tweaks and modifications, each time I bake a batch. 

I make brownies frequently, and recently I was making a particularly large batch to give away as gifts. I decided to double the original recipe and replace some of the butter with avocado puree and make a few other changes.

Ingredients:

(This makes enough batter for a 9x13-inch pan)

• 4 Tbsp butter
• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (I used Baker's)
• 1 ½  tsp instant coffee granules (I used Nescafe)
• A pinch of salt
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 avocado, peeled & pureed
• 2/3  cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ - ¾   cup walnuts

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with foil and grease well.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the coffee powder, salt and sugar and mix well. Add the eggs, avocado puree, flour, baking powder and baking soda, mixing after each addition. Stir in half of the chopped walnuts and combine to get a smooth batter. 

Dump the batter into the prepared pan and spread as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts on top of the batter. Bake at 325 F for around 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool completely before slicing or else it will be difficult to get perfect straight-edged pieces. I refrigerated my baking dish with the brownies (after it had cooled down completely) for a couple of hours before cutting them into squares.  As delicious as these brownies are fresh out of the oven, they taste even better after a day or two.

Classic Brownies

This is my version of Dorie Greenspan's brownies from her book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. 

I've used the basic recipe many times- I sometimes substitute the walnuts in the recipe with pecans or hazelnuts (my favorite) and add different flavors (peppermint, orange, vanilla) depending on what kind of brownies I want to make.

 I baked a large batch of brownies last week. I doubled all the ingredients (except the butter, eggs and nuts) and used a 9-x-13-inch pan.  I didn't follow the method mentioned in the original recipe and just did what I normally do when I make brownies. 

Ingredients:

(For a 9-x-13-inch pan)

• 1 stick/8 Tbsp butter
• 1 12-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Hershey's)
• 1 ½ cups sugar
•  3 eggs
•  2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp instant coffee granules (I used Nescafe)
• A pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a 9-x-13-inch baking dish with foil and grease well.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the coffee powder, vanilla extract, salt and sugar and mix well. Add the eggs, stir in the flour and combine. Stir in half of the chopped walnuts and mix well to get a smooth batter.

Dump the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts on top of the batter. Bake at 325 F for around 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

These brownies are very chocolaty, moist and rich, and have a nice crackled crust. 

I've made them on different occasions and they've always been a hit.

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

Chocolate and orange are a classic flavor combination and this cake is one of my favorites. I make a couple of different versions with minor variations depending on the ingredients I have at the time. It only takes about 10 minutes to make the batter for this cake and it can also be baked as cupcakes or loaf cakes (with the baking time adjusted accordingly) depending on your preference.

Dry ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:

• 8 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• Zest of 2 oranges (reserve a bit for the glaze)
• ½- ¾ cup of freshly squeezed orange juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cake pan. I used my bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs, orange zest and orange juice and mix well.  The mixture may look curdled at this point, but it comes together well once the rest of the ingredients are in. Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients and transfer the batter to the pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

While the cake was cooling I made a simple glaze. I just melted some chocolate, mixed in some orange zest and a splash of milk and poured it all over the top of the cake.

                                                                                  

Easy Hazelnut Fudge

I  love giving homemade food gifts during the holiday season. Last week, I made a few different kinds of treats- some old favorites, some new finds- and filled up more than a dozen holiday themed take-out boxes and festive bags, and gave them away as gifts. An assortment of goodies- chocolate truffles, bark, fudge, cookies and peppermint bark brownies- went into each bag.

This hazelnut fudge was one of the things that went into my gift bags. The fudge is rich, creamy, and smooth and melts in your mouth.

Ingredients:

(makes 64 small pieces/squares)

• 10 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I used Baker's baking squares)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp coffee powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp Nutella
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• ½ - ¾   cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped (reserve a handful to sprinkle over the fudge before it sets)
• A pinch of salt

Method:

Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x8- inch baking dish and line with parchment paper.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butter. Add the condensed milk, vanilla extract, coffee powder, Nutella and salt. Microwave in 45-second increments for 3-5 minutes  and mix well in between. Stir in the toasted and chopped hazelnuts.  Mix well until the mixture is smooth and everything comes together.

Pour the thick mixture into the prepared baking dish, smooth the top and sprinkle the reserved hazelnuts all over the surface.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (I let it sit overnight in the refrigerator). Once the fudge has set, take it out of the dish and cut into bite-sized pieces using a sharp knife.

Here are some of the other treats I made-

* Pistachio and Peppermint White Chocolate Bark

Line a baking sheet with foil. Melt 8 ounces of white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Pour the melted chocolate over the lined baking sheet and spread it with a spatula to get a layer that is about ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle the top evenly with crushed candy canes and chopped pistachios. Refrigerate until firm. Cut/break into pieces and serve.

* Orange-flavored truffles

Although truffles are simple enough to make any time of the year, I usually get down to making them only during the holidays.  I use this recipe as the base and make different kinds of truffles by changing the flavors (vanilla, orange, peppermint, balsamic vinegar) and toppings (toasted and chopped nuts, cocoa powder, sweetened coconut flakes, crushed candy canes, toffee bits).

This time I made orange flavored truffles and used toffee bits, cocoa powder and toasted and chopped hazelnuts as my toppings.

* World Peace Cookies

I consider myself to be a fairly decent baker, but for some reason, I’ve had no luck with cookies despite numerous attempts. This very popular recipe for world peace cookies (I found it here) is the only cookie recipe that has actually worked well for me.

Lauki Halwa

Over the weekend, I made a few sweets for Diwali. Lauki halwa was one of the sweet dishes I made for our small Diwali celebration that I hadn’t made before. Since it turned out pretty well, I’m making a note of the recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 1 big bottle gourd/lauki, about 5 cups, peeled, grated, and excess water removed
• Ghee/clarified butter- 1 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp
• ¼ cup cashewnuts
• A handful of raisins (I used dried cranberries since I realized at the last possible moment that I was all out of raisins!)
• ½ -3/4   cup sugar (adjust according to taste)
• ½ tsp cardamom powder

 Method:

In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp ghee over medium-high heat. Add the cashews and raisins and fry the cashews till they are lightly browned and the raisins plump up a bit. Set aside.

In the same pan add 2 more Tbsp ghee and add the grated bottle gourd. Cook for 10-15 minutes till all the water evaporates.

Add the sugar, mix well and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so till the sugar melts and the mixture comes together. Add the cardamom powder, raisins and cashews. 

Cook, stirring constantly till the mixture is almost dry. Serve hot or cold.

Blueberry - Lime Loaf Cake

Sometime last year, I followed an Ina Garten recipe and made a lemon yogurt cake. The recipe was a huge hit and the cake became very popular in our household. Since then I've made this lemon cake many times and it has always been well-received by all those who have tasted it. I tried Deeba’s very similar recipe recently- her recipe called for limes instead of lemons and buttermilk instead of yogurt. I also used blueberries in my version of the recipe since lime and blueberries go together so well.

Dry ingredients:

• 1 ½  cups all-purpose flour (reserve 2 tsp of this for  later)
• ½  tsp baking powder
• ½  tsp baking soda
• A pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:

• 1 stick/8 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½  cup buttermilk
• Juice of 2 limes
• Zest of 1 lime

• ¾ -1 cup blueberries, tossed in about 2 tsp flour

For the syrup:

• Juice of 2 limes
• 2-3 tsp sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5- inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, buttermilk, lime zest, lime juice, and vanilla extract, mixing well after each addition.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients and mix well.

Toss the blueberries in about 2 tsp of flour, add to the batter and fold in gently.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

For the syrup, mix the lime juice and sugar in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves.

While the cake is still warm, poke holes all over its surface, brush the solution all over the cake so that it can be absorbed while still warm. Slice and serve.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Although an upside-down cake is traditionally made with pineapple, fruits like peaches, pears, plums, apples or berries work just as well. I always thought that an upside–down cake was too challenging and complicated to make until I saw this simple recipe on Joy of Baking.

This was my first time making a cake like this and I was very pleased with the results- this is a cake that tastes as good as it looks.

I did make some minor changes to the recipe by cutting down on the butter, sugar and milk and the cake still turned out fine. The proportions I've mentioned worked well for me.

Ingredients:

For the topping:

• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 pineapple (peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick)

 For the cake batter:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the bottom and sides of a round cake pan.

In a small bowl, melt the butter and brown sugar in the microwave. Mix well and heat for another minute or so till the sugar melts and the mixture turns bubbly.

Pour this mixture into a round cake pan and spread it around a bit so that it coats the bottom of the pan and arrange the pineapple pieces in a single layer over it.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients together. Add milk to loosen the batter a bit and mix well.

Dump the batter into the pan over the pineapple layer and spread to get a uniform layer of batter. Smooth the top and place in the oven. Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. (I let the cake sit in the oven for another 10 minutes after turning it off.)

Cool the cake in the pan for about 5 minutes, run a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen it and invert onto a serving plate. Slice and serve warm.

Update: I made this cake again but used plums this time. I also added the zest of one orange to the batter. The cake was a big hit and was gone in just 2 days! 

                       Plum upside-down cake

Gianduia Brownies

I’ve tried a lot of brownie recipes over the years and have posted a few of the ones I’ve liked here. Although I found my perfect brownie recipe a while back, I just can’t seem to stop looking for new recipes to try out!

I recently made a batch of Gianduia brownies using a recipe I saw on Epicurious. Here is the recipe with my modifications-

Ingredients:

(For 16 squares)

• 4 Tbsp butter
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used Baker’s)
• 2 Tbsp Nutella
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
• Salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil and grease well.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments. Mix well. Add nutella, vanilla extract, salt and brown sugar and mix well. Add the eggs, stir in the flour and mix again. Add the chopped hazelnuts and combine to get a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool and cut into squares.

Coconut Burfi

Coconut burfi is one of my favorite Indian  sweets and I've been making it for a long time now.  I recently made it in this fun pink color after I saw Aarti make it on her show many months back.  I purchased my first tiny bottle of food color just  to make pink colored burfi !  

Over time, I've found that the sugar to coconut ratio that works well for me is 1:2 The burfi is still a bit too sweet for my taste, but I've learned that using anything  less than a cup  affects the texture of the burfi,  doesn't allow it to "set" and gives  it a fudge-like consistency.

Ingredients:

(For 36 small squares)

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ -½  cup water ( or just enough to cover the sugar)
• 2 cups frozen coconut, thawed before using
• ½  tsp cardamom powder
• 1-2 drops red food coloring

Method:

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. When the sugar melts and the syrup starts to bubble, add the coconut, cardamom powder and food color.

Mix well and stir at regular intervals till the mixture thickens and is almost dry. This could take 20-25 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a greased pan, allow it to cool and harden (refrigeration might be required), and cut into squares. I used one of my square serving trays, lined it with foil and dumped the coconut mixture into it. This recipe gives me 36 small squares.

Nutella Brownies

I saw these delicious-looking brownie bites on Sweet Savory Life and just had to make them immediately.

The recipe is Abby Dodge's and it makes use of just 4 ingredients.

 Ingredients:

(For 12 brownie bites)

• ½ cup Nutella spread
• 1 large egg
• 5 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ cup chopped pecans (the original recipe uses hazelnuts)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup mini muffin pan with cupcake liners. Mix the Nutella and egg together in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add the flour and mix well.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the chopped nuts.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

My brownies were ready in about 10 minutes. I ate a couple of them straight out of the oven and then decided that I'd be better off sharing them, so I took the rest in to work.  They disappeared pretty quickly!

Chocolate and Zucchini Cake

Many years back, when I first came across the world of food blogs, one of the very first recipes I’d bookmarked was a recipe for a cake from Clotilde Dusoulier’s blog.

Last week when I was on my refrigerator-cleaning mission, I finally got around to making this cake.

You can find the original recipe here; I followed it closely but did make a couple of changes, the most important one being the addition of a good amount of orange zest. My husband does not care much for chocolate or any recipe using chocolate but he does like the classic combination of chocolate and orange flavors. It also happens to be one of my favorite flavor combinations.

Here’s how I adapted the recipe to make my version of the chocolate and zucchini cake:

*I used a lot of orange zest since  I think chocolate and orange are so perfect together.

* I decreased the amount of cocoa powder, butter and eggs.

* I used melted chocolate in the recipe

*I added buttermilk to the batter. 

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a cake pan. I used my bundt pan.

Mix together the following dry ingredients in a bowl-

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
•  ½ tsp salt

In another bowl mix together the following-

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 6 oz semi sweet chocolate
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp orange zest (from 1 big orange)
• 1 tsp instant coffee granules
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup buttermilk

Combine the dry and wet ingredients together and mix well.

Grate 2 medium zucchini.  I got approximately 2 cups- a little more or a little less is fine. Squeeze as much water out as possible first and then add it to the batter. Give it a good mix. The batter will be relatively thick; if you have trouble bringing it together, add a splash of buttermilk.

Dump the batter into the greased pan and bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.


Cool for 10 minutes; remove cake from pan.

The cake was absolutely fantastic- it had a rich chocolate taste and an  intense orange flavor that I was hoping for.  It was tender, moist and delicious- I’m definitely going to be making this over and over again!
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                        Chocolate Beet Cake

Update: I tried the cake recently using beets instead of zucchini. Although I was a bit skeptical about using beets, I decided to go ahead with it. The cake turned out to be very moist and delicious. I shared it with my co-workers the next day without telling them what was in it. Everyone loved the cake!

Banana Bread

I made some banana bread over the weekend. This is the recipe I usually follow when I’m making banana bread, but this time I was looking for something different and wanted to try another recipe for a change. I came across this one that looked very good, but at the last moment I realized that I did not have sour cream, a key ingredient in the recipe. So I made a few substitutions and ended up with a recipe that is a combination of both the recipes with a few additional ingredients thrown in. 

Here's what needs to be done-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour your pan.  (I had enough batter for my regular 8 x 4- inch loaf pan and a mini one too.)

Mix together the following ingredients in a bowl-

• 1 ½  cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½  tsp. salt
• A pinch of cardamom powder
• ¼  tsp powdered cloves
• ½  tsp cinnamon

In another bowl, beat together these wet ingredients-

• ¾  cup sugar
• ½  cup olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed banana (from about 2   very ripe bananas)
• ½  cup yogurt (I used low-fat)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the dry and wet ingredients together and mix well. Fold in the following -

• ¼  cup butterscotch morsels
• ¼  cup toffee bits (I used Heath Bits ‘O Brickle Toffee Bits)
• ½  cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts

Pour the batter into the greased pans. Bake for  45-50 minutes  or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out relatively clean. My small loaf was done in 30-35 minutes. Cool, slice and serve.

The recipe was a success- the bread had the perfect amount of sweetness, and it was soft and moist. A slice or two of  this delicious loaf  makes a wonderful accompaniment to a cup of tea. 

Orange-Blueberry Bundt Cake

This delicious cake is easy to make and the bright citrus flavors make it a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. The yogurt, fresh orange juice and orange zest make it a very moist, light and tangy cake-  bake it and see for yourself!

This cake is sweet without being overwhelmingly so, and would be perfect with a hot cup of tea or as an after-dinner treat.

Dry ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup yogurt (I had fat-free and that’s what I used)
• ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (save 3 Tbsp or so of this for the glaze)
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ - ¾ cup of blueberries, tossed in a bit of flour

For the glaze:

• 2-3 tsp powdered/confectioners’ sugar
• 3 Tbsp fresh orange juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your pan of choice. I used my bundt pan.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well.

Add the orange zest, vanilla extract, yogurt and orange juice. Mix well. (At this stage, I noticed that my batter had begun to curdle but I continued mixing. I found out later that this had  not in any way affected the taste, texture or appearance of the final product.)

Mix the dry ingredients well and combine with the wet ingredients. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Pour into the greased pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Mine was done in exactly 35 minutes and I turned off the oven and let the cake sit in there while I got the glaze ready.)

For the glaze, combine the orange juice and   sugar and mix well until smooth.

Drizzle the glaze all over the cake while it’s still warm. Slice and serve.

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

Strawberries are available year-round at all grocery stores, but the local strawberry season has been brief and is nearing its end. I've been trying to do as much as possible with these sweet and juicy berries before I'm forced to buy the tasteless ones off the supermarket shelves.

Recently, I was looking for a recipe where I could do something different with strawberries, but after going through a whole lot of recipes on the Internet, I finally decided to just tweak a Martha Stewart recipe that I'd tried a few months back.

I used buttermilk in my cake after I saw this. I always have buttermilk in my fridge and I’d just bought strawberries a few days back.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar (set aside 2 tsp for sprinkling over the berries)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 10-12 strawberries, finely chopped
• 6-10 strawberries, quartered
• 1/4 cup white chocolate morsels

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease your baking dish of choice. I used my 9" springform pan for this.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, beat together the egg, softened butter, sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture in small batches and mix well after each addition.

Add the chopped strawberries (I tossed the fruit pieces in some flour first to prevent them from all sinking to the bottom of the batter) and chocolate chip morsels and mix well.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down, and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the strawberries.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The insides of my cake were done in 45 minutes but the surface looked uncooked, so I carefully broiled it for 5 minutes.

Slice and serve.