Balsamic roasted strawberries are one of my favorite special treats. This balsamic strawberry cake is made with a simple cake batter, berries tossed with balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, and an almond streusel topping. It’s like a coffee cake with an elegant twist.
If you’ve never had strawberries with balsamic vinegar before, you’re in for a treat. The combination is so perfect, and when roasted together, the flavor becomes even more concentrated and delicious.
Recipe features:
- The easiest one-bowl cake. The cake itself couldn’t be easier to make. Simply stir everything together in one bowl and you’re done.
- Juicy balsamic strawberries. Fresh berries tossed with maple syrup, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar add tons of flavor to this simple cake.
- Buttery almond streusel. The crumble topping made with almond flour adds another fun layer of flavor and texture.
Balsamic strawberry cake tips
My best tips for making this cake:
Use fresh local strawberries. You want the best of the best for this cake. Try to get your hands on some local strawberries during the berry season so that they’re perfectly ripe.
Use high-quality balsamic vinegar. Balsamic that’s aged and slightly thick will be the best for this recipe.
Let the balsamic strawberries macerate. Give the berries at least 20 minutes to sit with the balsamic, olive oil, salt, and maple syrup. This will help bring out their juices and give you a super flavorful topping for the cake.
Strain the berries. Before you add the balsamic strawberries to the cake, strain them. After sitting for 20 minutes, they will have created quite a bit of juice, but adding too much liquid to the cake will make it difficult to bake properly. You can always save this delicious juice for something else creative!
Serving suggestions
This cake is more like a coffee cake than an after dinner dessert cake. It’s great eaten either warm or cold, all on its own. If you’d like to jazz it up a bit, you could dust it with powdered sugar or serve it with whipped cream.
I love having a slice of it in the morning with a cup of strong black coffee.
If you make this cake, please leave a rating and comment below!
More simple summer cake recipes:
- Raspberry Chamomile Tea Cakes
- Raspberry Shortcake
- Zucchini Cake with Silky Chocolate Glaze
- Strawberry Swirl Bundt Cake
Almond Streusel Cake with Balsamic Strawberries
Ingredients
Balsamic Strawberries
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 2 teaspoons high-quality balsamic vinegar
Cake
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup fine almond flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Almond Streusel
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup fine almond flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 ounces cold unsalted butter, diced
Instructions
For the balsamic strawberries:
- Wash strawberries, remove hulls, and slice in half lengthwise. Place in a small bowl.
- Drizzle with maple syrup, olive oil, balsamic, and salt. Set aside to macerate for at least 20 minutes. Strain before adding to cake (you can save the remaining syrup for another baking recipe, or a mocktail or cocktail!).
For the almond streusel:
- Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Keep chilled until ready to use.
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9" cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter and allow to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, flours, baking powder, and salt. Add melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Whisk gently just until combined.
- Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Dollop strained strawberries on top, distributing carefully in a thin layer. Crumble streusel over cake.
- Bake until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean and cake and streusel are golden brown, about 35-40 minutes.
- Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool before slice and serving.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment below!
