Finally, after a significant vacation and a lot of extra time spent at my restaurant job after my return, I have time to do some serious grocery shopping, and then actually make something from a recipe. My first foray back into Real Cooking is the Strawberry, Balsamic & Olive Oil Breakfast Cake from Food52, posted 3+ years ago now. I think it sounds delicious, but I talk to my mother on the phone while it is baking and she balks at the idea of balsamic vinegar in a cake. Then she confesses that she balks at balsamic vinegar in general, which is obviously a giant error on her part, so I dismiss her opinion. Has she ever had strawberries with balsamic vinegar, I ask her? She hasn't.
The cake involves layering an entire pound of strawberries on the bottom of a round cake pan, pouring on a substantial quantity of balsamic reduction, and then layering the cake batter on top, batter which itself contains both buttermilk and more balsamic vinegar, for maximum tanginess. Warning: bake this cake on top of a cookie sheet, because vinegary strawberry syrup will boil up and pour out the sides, and boy does that stuff smoke.
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This can't be right. Second warning: I don't really recommend baking this cake at all. The quantity of strawberries on top is kind of excessive, and the amount of balsamic vinegar (3/4 cup in all) is really excessive. The cake was quite moist, on the level of a pineapple upside-down cake, but most of that moisture consisted of a vinegar reduction: strange, sharp, and much more reminiscent of salad than a cake should be. That said, my husband loved it. Kid and I ate our slices-- it was not inedible, certainly-- but we lacked enthusiasm. The bites with a lot of vinegary strawberries were especially difficult to get through. If you do try this recipe, try halving the amount of berries and also-and-especially halving the balsamic syrup-- less topping might bring this cake into better balance.
Cake was for dessert, of course. (Not breakfast. It would be quite a... bracing... breakfast.) Dinner was fresh corn-on-the-cob, little boiled potatoes from our CSA, and open-face egg salad sandwiches.
Cake was for dessert, of course. (Not breakfast. It would be quite a... bracing... breakfast.) Dinner was fresh corn-on-the-cob, little boiled potatoes from our CSA, and open-face egg salad sandwiches.