Strawberries and Cream Coffeecake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

 
Many poets, authors, playwrights, and songwriters have found inspiration in luscious sweet strawberries. Consider this humorous prose from Shel Silverstein from his book "Where The Sidewalk Ends" on strawberries.

Should you pet them, or let them run free where they roam? Could they ever relax in a steam-heated home? Can they be trained to not growl at the guests? Will a litterbox work or would they make a mess? Can we make them a Cowberry, herding the cows, or maybe a Muleberry pulling the plows, or maybe a Huntberry chasing the grouse, or maybe a Watchberry guarding the house, and though they may curl up at your feet oh so sweetly can you ever feel that you trust them completely? Or should we make a pet out of something less scary, like the Domestic Prune or the Imported Cherry, Anyhow, you've been warned and I will not be blamed if your Wild Strawberries cannot be tamed.”

or can you recall the lyrics to this famous song "Strawberry Fields Forever" written by John Lennon and attributed to the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership? It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of "Strawberry Field" a Salvation Army Children's home near where he lived.

Strawberries and Cream Coffeecake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

A moist and tender strawberry sour cream coffee cake with a vanilla cream cheese topping that's irresistible. A cake perfect for your next coffee gathering or a mid-afternoon break. Recipe adapted from closetcooking.com 

Cake Ingredients:

• 1-1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Saigon cinnamon or 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream (or vanilla yogurt)
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups strawberries, sliced

Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup cream cheese, room temperature
• 2/3 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons milk or as much as needed for frosting consistency 

Directions:

• Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar, and mix in the eggs one at a time followed by the sour cream, buttermilk, and vanilla.
• Mix the dry mixture into the wet followed by the strawberries.
• Pour the mixture into a greased 9-inch spring form pan or an 8-inch square pan.
• Bake in a preheated 375 degrees oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean, about 26 minutes.
• Mix the cream cheese, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth and drizzle on on cooled cake.
  
• Note: You can also use frozen strawberries; just add them to the recipe frozen just like you would with fresh and bake for a few minutes longer.