Strawberry White Chocolate Breakfast Cake

This is such a kiddy cake: it's light and fluffy, sweet and juicy, and packed with soft strawberries and creamy white chocolate. And although my childhood days are long over, I love this cake. I would even call it my favorite spring cake (for the time being, until my next discovery). And the fact that it's so easy to prepare - you just have to roll out of bed on a lazy Sunday morning and throw it all together - makes it a perfect weekend breakfast cake.

The combination of the ripe red berries and the milky chocolate works unbelievably well in a cake. I'm familiar with this duo in ice cream and other sweet snacks, but it never struck me as much as in this composition. I was worried that the sweetness could be a little overpowering, but there was no reason to worry, it was still balanced. In fact, this cute little teaser tastes so good that it was gone in less than 24 hours. I wanted to freeze a few pieces - my new habit to eat a little less sweets - but it was hopeless. One piece after the other kept disappearing until the last crumbs were gone and the plate looked almost clean. I think if I could choose between a plate full of cake or a little less on my hips, I'd always go for cake.

Strawberry White Chocolate Breakfast Cake

Makes 1 cake

• plain flour 130g / 1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon for the strawberries

• cornstarch 30g / 1/4 cup

• baking powder 1 heaping teaspoon

• fine sea salt 1/8 teaspoon

• butter (at room temperature) 160g / 2/3 cup plus scant 1 tablespoon

• granulated sugar 100g / 1/2 cup

• vanilla bean, scraped, 1/2organic eggs 3

• fresh strawberries, cut into cubes, 150g / 5 ounces

• white chocolate, chopped, 100g / 3/1/2 ounces

For the topping (optional)

• icing sugar or finely grated white chocolate 1 tablespoon

• fresh strawberries 3-4

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F (preferably convection setting) and butter a 20cm / 8″  springform pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.

In a second large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla seeds until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well in between. Continue mixing for 2 minutes or until the mixture is thick and creamy. Quickly mix in the flour mixture until combined. Mix the strawberries with 1 tablespoon of flour and add, along with the chopped white chocolate, to the batter. Using a wooden spoon, gently fold in the berries and chocolate until just combined. Scrape the batter into the buttered springform pan, even it out, and bake for 40-45 minutes (slightly longer if using a conventional oven) or until golden on top. Check with a skewer, it should come out clean. Let the cake cool for a few minutes before you take it out of the springform pan.

Sprinkle the cool cake with icing sugar or grated white chocolate and decorate with strawberries.