Strawberry Olive Oil Cake

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The simplest of snack cakes—a soft sour cream and olive oil cake studded with sweet, fresh strawberries.

In case you’ve missed it, I have spent the last month harping on and on about the beautiful, perfect strawberries that I picked at a local farm. I filled a flat with warm summer berries, ate a significant number on the drive home, and then I got to work. I made strawberry preserves, fresh strawberry ice cream, and this cake.

This was a whim recipe. I had planned on the preserves and ice cream, but quickly realized that I still had a bounty of berries, so I thumbed through Yossy Arefi’s Snacking Cakes to see if I could riff on one of her recipes. This cake is as simple as it gets—extra moist from the olive oil and sour cream, studded with a layer of sweet berries. We spent a few days cutting off a little sliver every time we walked through the kitchen. It’s the perfect, low-effort summer cake.

how to make a strawberry olive oil snack cake

Guys, this is truly the easiest cake around. You only need a handful of ingredients (most of which you probably have on hand), it only takes one bowl, and the adaptations are endless.

You’ll need:

Sugar: Granulated sugar for sweetness, plus a little more to create a crunchy layer on top of the cake. You can play with demerara or turbinado sugar for the topping for an extra crunch.

Eggs: Two large eggs help provide both moisture and structure for this recipe.

Sour Cream: I love baking with sour cream because it adds tenderness, flavor, and density to my cakes. You can sub in greek yogurt, ricotta, or even créme fraîche if you’re feeling fancy.

Olive Oil: You want a good grassy olive oil for this cake. The olive oil flavor pairs so well with the strawberries, and since it’s an oil-based cake, you know it will be extra moist.

Vanilla: I used the seeds scraped from a vanilla bean for this recipe, but you could use vanilla bean powder, paste, extract.

Flour: Just simple all purpose flour, though if you’re feeling experimental, subbing in 25% spelt flour would be nutty and lovely.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Baking powder is used for leavening here, while the baking soda helps to counteract the acidity of the sour cream. If you’re interested in learning more about the difference between the two—read this.

Strawberries: The real star of the show. I used warm, freshly picked berries for this recipe because the flavor will really shine. Slice them thinly to prevent sogginess, or sub in black, blue, or raspberries.

Strawberry Olive Oil Cake
Yield one 9" cake
Author Anna Ramiz
Prep time
20 Min
Cook time
50 Min
Total time
1 H & 10 M

Strawberry Olive Oil Cake

The simplest of snack cakes—a soft sour cream and olive oil cake studded with sweet, fresh strawberries. Adapted from Yossy Arefi's book Snacking Cakes.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar, plus 2 tsp for sprinkling
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup (220 g) sour cream
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) olive oil
  • 1 vanilla bean, scraped
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 cup (160 g) all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 160 g strawberries, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9" cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until frothy.
  3. Add the sour cream, olive oil, and vanilla bean seeds and whisk again until smooth and homogenized.
  4. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and whisk again until just incorporated and no flour streaks remain.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with the sliced strawberries. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tsp of sugar and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top of the cake is deeply golden brown and the center is set.
  6. Let the cake cool completely in the pan. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

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Pear and Cardamom Snack Cake

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A comfy, cozy buttermilk snack cake spiced with fragrant cardamom and studded with fresh pears. This simple cake is topped with a cardamom crumble and a caramel glaze.

Its snack cake season, everyone. The time of year where you’re looking for simple, seasonal bakes that you can share with friends and family at holiday parties, potlucks, or gatherings. And because I love a good snack cake, I have quite a few lined up to share with you over the next few months.

This pear and cardamom snack cake is a perfect fall treat. The batter features warm browned butter and floral cardamom and is filled with juicy seasonal pears. Plus, there’s a cardamom crumble on top and a warm caramel glaze that takes this cake to the next level. Let’s jump in!

simple snack cake

For me, for a cake to be considered snack-able, it needs to follow a few rules. First, it’s a single-layer, one pan situation. No baking multiple pans of batter or torte-ing layers allowed. Ideally, it’s a blending method cake—meaning wet ingredients are whisked into dry ingredients and liquid fat is incorporated. This means no mixers or lots of dishes for clean-up.

I also love seasonal snack cakes, with ultra-simple bases that hold up whatever seasonal fruit I have on hand. Adaptability is key.

how to make a pear cardamom snack cake:

  • To make this recipe, we start with the crumble. Flour, oats, and spices are mixed together with softened butter just to bind everything together and form craggy clumps. This gets chilled while you make the cake so it’s easier to crumble.

  • To make the cake, we start by browning butter with a few smashed cardamom pods until it’s nutty and fragrant. I like to get whole cardamom pods at my local Middle Eastern grocery store or World Market, but if you can’t find them, feel free to omit them.

  • While the butter is cooling, all of our dry ingredients get whisked together, followed by the wet ingredients. Then the wet ingredients are added to the dry ingredients to form a batter and finally, the browned butter is whisked in.

  • For this recipe, I used two large pears. I started by cutting the pears in half so that I had four pieces. I diced three of the halves into small chunks and then thinly sliced the last half and set it aside for topping.

  • The diced pears are folded into the batter and then the batter is transferred to a 9” cake pan (I like deep springform pans for this recipe), before it’s topped with the reserved pear slices (for aesthetic purposes) and the chilled cardamom crumble.

  • The cake is baked—it will need a longer bake due to the high moisture content, and then warm caramel glaze is drizzled over the top.

Pear and Cardamom Snack Cake
Yield one 9" cake, serves 8-10
Author Anna Ramiz
Prep time
30 Min
Cook time
1 Hour
Total time
1 H & 30 M

Pear and Cardamom Snack Cake

A comfy, cozy buttermilk snack cake spiced with fragrant cardamom and studded with fresh pears. This simple cake is topped with a cardamom crumble and a caramel glaze.

Ingredients

for the crumble topping
  • 1/4 cup (32 g) all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup (30 g) rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter, softened
for the cake
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter
  • 2 cardamom pods, smashed
  • 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (227 g) buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 pears (375 g), 3/4 diced, 1/4 thinly sliced
for the caramel glaze
  • 1/4 cup (30 g) sifted confectioner's sugar
  • 1/4 cup warm caramel, homemade or store-bought

Instructions

to make the crumble topping
  1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until all of the butter has been worked in and mixture forms large clumps. Transfer to a bowl and chill while you make the cake.
to make the cake
  1. Place butter and smashed cardamom pods in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, for 6-7 minutes or until the butter becomes foamy and fragrant and little brown flecks begin to form on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the butter to a bowl to cool and discard the cardamom seeds.
  2. Line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground cardamom, and salt. Set aside.
  4. In another bowl or a large measuring cup, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until batter is smooth and no flour clumps remain. Whisk in the cooled browned butter until thick and homogenized.
  6. Gently fold the diced pears into the batter until dispersed. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and arrange the sliced pears on the top. Generously sprinkle the crumble topping over the cake.
  7. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until cake is deeply browned and a skewer or knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan.
  8. While the cake is cooling, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and warm caramel to form a smooth, drizzle-able glaze.
  9. Invert the cooled cake onto a serving platter and drizzle with the caramel glaze.

Notes

You can use store-bought or homemade caramel for this recipe, but you may need to slightly adjust the amount added depending on the thickness of your caramel. You can find the homemade caramel recipe that I used for this recipe here.

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Spiced Apple Crostata

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A rustic fall crostata, or open-faced fruit tart, featuring a flaky, cinnamon crust and filled with brown sugar and fresh apples. It’s perfect topped with a simple, homemade molasses glaze and vanilla ice cream.

This recipe is sponsored by B&G Foods, Inc as a part of their #bakingathome and #cookwithcrisco campaign. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the businesses who support Gathered At My Table!

It’s officially fall. The leaves are turning from emerald greens to deep oranges and reds, the temperature is beginning to drop and we’re heading inside to sit by the fire with warm bowls of soup, and I’m baking. I’m baking cookies and cakes, breads and brownies, and of course, I’m tucking the last of my orchard apples into dough.

This week, I’m sharing a super simple recipe for this rustic spiced apple crostata featuring Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening, Spice Islands® Ground Saigon Cinnamon, and Grandma’s® Molasses. It features a flaky, cinnamon-spiced crust, filled with brown sugar and apples and finished with a sweet molasses glaze and it’s just one of the coziest recipes you’ll make this fall!

what is a crostata?

A crostata is the Italian term for an open-faced fruit tart. You’ve probably more familiar with the French translation, galette, but they are the same thing. A sheet of flaky pie dough, filled with some sort of fruit or produce, and then edges are folded up and around the filling to create a little crust barrier and hold all of the fruit inside. I love making galettes and crostatas because they are SO VERSATILE. You can fill them with anything you want—sweet or savory—, they are quick and easy to make, and the rustic, free-form shape is sure to make an impression at your table.

the crust

For this recipe, I slightly adapted my basic pie dough to create an ultra-flaky cinnamon spiced crust. I used flour, a little sugar, and replaced half of the butter with Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening. Shortening is made up of 100% fat while butter is made up of 80% fat and 20% water. Shortening also has a higher melting point, which helps prevent spread and contributes to rise in baked goods. In this recipe, it makes for extra flaky layers plus is a plant-based fat which is helpful when baking for friends with differing dietary restrictions. I also swirled in some Spice Islands Ground Saigon Cinnamon for an added cozy flavor.

ingredients you need to make this spiced apple crostata:

  • Flour. It’s the base of all our baked goods and we’re using regular, all-purpose, unbleached flour for this recipe.

  • Sugar. For just a little added sweetness, we’re using just 2 tsp of granulate sugar.

  • Salt. Always salt. It helps to balance the sweetness and draw out the other flavors in the dish.

  • Spice Islands Ground Saigon Cinnamon. High-quality, finely-ground cinnamon for that warm fall flavor. Find it here.

  • Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening. A 100% plant-based fat, shortening is the key to our super flaky crust. Get it here.

  • Butter. I use a little bit of unsalted butter in partnership with the shortening in this recipe for a bit of added flavor. If you’re making this recipe completely plant-based, you can omit the butter and replace it with more shortening.

  • Ice Water. Cold ice water helps moisten the pie dough, hydrate the flour, and bind everything together. We just use 3-4 tbsp, until the dough begins to come together.

  • Brown Sugar. A thin layer of brown sugar at the base of the crostata creates a bubbly caramel bed for the apples.

  • Apples. I used a mix of different types of apples found at my local apple orchard. Use your favorite type of apple, or a mix, very thinly sliced.

  • Grandma’s® Molasses. Unsulfured, preservative-free molasses makes for a sweet, somewhat smoky glaze. Get it here.

  • Powdered Sugar. You’ll need 1/4 cup for this recipe.

  • Heavy Cream. Just a splash or two to loosen the glaze.

Spiced Apple Crostata
Yield one 9" crostata
Author Anna Ramiz
Prep time
30 Min
Cook time
30 Min
Inactive time
1 Hour
Total time
2 Hour

Spiced Apple Crostata

A rustic fall crostata, or open-faced fruit tart, featuring a flaky, cinnamon crust and filled with brown sugar and fresh apples. It’s perfect topped with a simple, homemade molasses glaze and vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

for the crust
for the filling and glaze
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 3-4 medium apples, thinly sliced
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 1/4 cup (60 g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp Grandma’s Molasses
  • 1-2 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
  2. Add the cold, cubed shortening and butter and work with your fingertips, until all of the fat is broken down into pea-sized pieces and the mixture is crumbly.
  3. Add 3 tbsp of ice water and toss to hydrate. Add another tablespoon of water and turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured work surface. Knead gently until the dough comes together and no flour spots remain.
  4. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and chill for at least an hour.
  5. When the dough has chilled, roll it out on a floured surface or a sheet of parchment paper to a circle about 10" in diameter. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  6. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
  7. Spread the brown sugar in an even layer over the surface of the dough, leaving about 2" around the edges. Arrange the thinly sliced apples over the brown sugar.
  8. Fold the outer edges of the crust up to create a border around the fruit and brush the edges of the crust with the beaten egg.
  9. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is deeply browned and the filling is soft and bubbly. Let cool slightly.
  10. To make the glaze, whisk together molasses, powdered sugar, and heavy cream until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle the glaze over the warm crostata just before serving.

Similar Recipes

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