Sunday Supper, Market :: Lemon Rosemary Cake with Strawberry Compote

Our dessert from Market was a Lemon Rosemary Cake with Strawberry Compote. This is a very versatile lemon cake recipe, you can add any additional flavor to change it up. Swap the rosemary for lavender or ground cardamon (about 3 tbl). Lemon and cardamon, yummmm! These strawberries were so perfectly in season we just wanted to highlight their amazing flavor.











All Photos by Karen Mordechai

Lemon Rosemary Cake with Strawberry Compote

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
2 c turbinado sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
¼ c lemon zest
¼ c rosemary leaves, chopped
3 c all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
¼ c lemon juice
¾ c buttermilk
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan. Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy and a pale yellow color, approximately 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time making sure they are completely incorporated before adding the next one. Add zest and rosemary.
Sift together all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla in another bowl.
Alternate adding flour and buttermilk mixtures to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour.
Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until tester comes out clean.

Strawberry Compote

4 pints of strawberries, hulled
1 vanilla bean split and scraped of seeds

In a medium saucepan, add the strawberries, vanilla bean and seeds. Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes. If the strawberries are in season and ripe, they will give up their juice very quickly. Serve at room temperature.

Copyright © 2009 by Casey Solomon for Sunday Suppers