Lemon and Strawberry Slices

Refreshing cakes are just the kind of sweets we need in the middle of summer and the combination of lemons and strawberries in this cake not only give it a certain tartness but they also represent the wonderful, vibrant colors of the sun which governs over the sky this time of year. 

With this post, I would also like to wish you all a happy and blessed Litha, albeit with delay. I hope you celebrated this sabbat as you wanted to and that this recipe will be useful to you sooner or later and enrich your celebration.

You Will Need:

For the crumbly base:

• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup (brown) sugar*
• 2 cups (whole-wheat) flour*
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the filling:

• 1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice (ca. 3 large lemons)
• 2 tsp lemon zest (ca. 2 lemons)
• 1 cup roughly chopped strawberries
• 3/4 cup (brown) sugar*
• 2-3 tbsp agave syrup
• 4 eggs
• 1 (to 1 1/2) cup (whole-wheat) flour*
• 1 packet baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

• powdered sugar for sprinkling

Note: You can substitute the ingredients that have a star (*) next to them if you want the cake to be lighter in color. The lighter version is, in my opinion, aesthetically much more pleasing, although this version is slightly healthier. So you can use plain wheat flour instead of whole-wheat and normal granulated sugar instead of brown sugar. With the light version of the cake, the base will be very light (almost white) and the strawberries and lemon will color the filling a pinkish color. But it's all up to you.

How To Prepare:

The base:

1. Heat the oven to 175°C.
2. Cover a deeper baking pan with baking paper approximately 22 x 38 cm in size.
3. Mix the butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Add the flour and salt and mix until you get a crumbly mixture.
4. Pat the mixture into the baking pan so you evenly cover the whole surface. And make sure it's well-packed (i.e. firm, with no holes, etc.) otherwise the base will be too crumbly and won't hold.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.

The filling:

1. Grate and squeeze the lemons and chop up the strawberries.
2. Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest, strawberries  and sugar together. Add the eggs and mix. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined.
3. Pour the mixture onto the base while it's still hot.
4. Return in the over for another 25 minutes.
5. Leave it to cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.