Fresh Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake

I like chocolate covered strawberries and figured not only would this Fresh Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake be a little easier, the extra sugar would help sweeten up the first strawberries of the year. We really enjoyed this cake and thought it was the perfect little dessert for a casual Sunday dinner. Truthfully, I think it would be perfect any time of day and suggest tucking this recipe away for an Easter or Mother's Day brunch.

You have lots of options here... The original recipe comes from Martha Stewart and she sprinkles an additional 1-2 Tblsp of sugar over the berries before baking, I didn't. You can top it with a sprinkling of powdered sugar before serving, I didn't. The chocolate chips were an addition from another blogger, and I think they were a good idea:@) She also used half yogurt instead of all butter, I didn't.

I'd say this was absolutely perfect as soon as it cooled off fresh out of the oven. The top was crispy, the chocolate chips were still soft and the berries tender and gooey. They say this cake stores well but I say it's best eaten as soon as possible-share it with the neighbors if you have any leftover!

The cake almost has the appearance of a cobbler with the way it bubbles up around the berries. I happened to have a 10" pie plate so that's what I used, a 9" springform pan would also work as would any similar sized baking dish.

I think you'll like this if you try it folks, we sure did:@)

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake-from Julia'sAlbum adapted from Martha Stewart
1 1/2 C A/P flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
6 Tblsp butter or 3 Tblsp each butter and Greek yogurt
1 C sugar, plus two for sprinkling over the berries before baking-optional
1 egg
1/2 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 C chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 quart strawberries, washed, hulled and cut in half-you may not use all of them

1. Mix butter, yogurt (if using) and sugar until light and fluffy. 
2. Add egg and mix well, add milk and vanilla, mix well.
3. Add flour, baking powder and salt, mix until just combined. Ideally the dry ingredients would be sifted first.
4. Stir chocolate chips into batter. 
5. Pour batter into a well greased 10" pie plate or baking dish. You can stop by Julia's for springform pan instructions.
6. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, all over the top. Sprinkle with extra chocolate chips, let them fall between the berries.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes then turn the oven down to 325 and bake an additional 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
8. Cool and serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Eat well and have a happy day:@)