Strawberry and White Chocolate Cake

This strawberry cake with white chocolate became one of my favorites some time ago. You can't imagine how delicious this recipe is! The moistness the cake takes on, together with the flavor of the roasted strawberries, makes every bite taste heavenly.

Some time ago I already shared my discovery with the Banana and Strawberry Bread recipe. We received many comments and emails saying how delicious that recipe was! So, since we share tastes and you like that kind of flavor, today I encourage you to make this delicious white chocolate and strawberry cake with brown sugar. I hope you enjoy it as much as the previous recipe (or even more!).

To bake it, there's nothing better or prettier than the Revol porcelain baking dish. I don’t know if you know that all REVOL pieces are handmade in France, and made to last. In this case, it's lovely to know that the handles are cast in the same mold (it's all a single piece), so they remain strong and sturdy. For the recipe I recommend using this Revol one with handles or the Caractère roasting pan, with the same baking quality, 18x26.

Ingredients

• 240 g pastry flour
• 200 g brown sugar
• 110 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 XL eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 120 g natural or vanilla yogurt
• 120 ml milk (preferably whole milk), at room temperature
• 140 g Valrhona Dulcey chocolate*
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, quartered
• Icing sugar (for decorating)

*Dulcey chocolate is a type of blond or caramelized white chocolate, known for its smooth, sweet flavor with biscuit and condensed milk notes. If you don't have it, you can simply substitute a quality white chocolate, although I strongly recommend adding to the mix, in addition to the white chocolate, a generous tablespoon of condensed milk (you can then reduce the sugar a bit; I would add 170 g instead of 200 g) and a dessert spoon of salted caramel.

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease the entire Revol pan of approx 20 x 20 with butter. To grease, help yourself with a brush or use a paper towel to spread the butter, and then flour the pan, removing the excess flour.
2. In a large wide bowl or in the KitchenAid bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. With the help of a mixer (or with the KitchenAid, using the whisk attachment), beat the brown sugar and butter until creamy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, not adding the second until the first is incorporated.
5. Add the Madagascar vanilla extract.
6. Add the yogurt and then the milk. Beat until smooth.
7. Now, gradually add the sifted flour with the baking powder and salt. Keep beating until homogenized — it may take a minute.
8. For the mixer or hand mixer, incorporate the chocolate (chopped into large pieces) and the strawberries quartered. You can fold with a spatula, using gentle folding motions from the edge inward, to distribute the filling through the batter. But mix minimally — we don't want the batter to lose the air you've incorporated during beating.
9. Transfer the batter to the prepared Revol pan.
10. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature (remember not to place directly on cold marble, always on a cooling rack or a kitchen towel to avoid thermal shocks).
11. Before serving, dust with icing sugar and serve. You'll see how tender and moist it is! And if you want to turn it into a Sunday dessert, serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Notes