Corn & Strawberry Pop-By Cake Recipe

As delicious as raw summer produce is, baking and cooking with it makes even more of your farmers market haul. One way to put it to good use? The simple, festive corn and strawberry pop-by cake from Katherine Lewin’s new cookbook, Big Night: Dinners, Parties & Dinner Parties .

“When we think about hosting, our minds often go straight to special occasions or holidays,” Lewin writes. “But what about those times when a friend texts to say, ‘I’m in the neighborhood. Can I come over and see you later this afternoon?’ My recommendation would be this cake, which is both snacky and sweet.”

It pairs just as beautifully with vanilla ice cream as it does Greek yogurt , sour cream , whipped cream and fresh fruit. Even better, the cake can be stored at room temperature for up to two days or chilled in the fridge for up to five days, if you feel like baking it ahead.

^{Recipe reprinted with permission from Big Night: Dinners, Parties, & Dinner Parties by Katherine Lewin © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © Emma Fishman.}

Skillet Blueberry Cornbread

262 calories

11g fat

36g carbs

4g protein

16g sugars

Nonstick cooking spray

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and quartered, divided

⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

⅔ cup sour cream or plain, full-fat Greek yogurt, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup medium-grind cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup fresh corn kernels

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch round or square cake pan or springform pan with cooking spray. If using a round pan, line the bottom with parchment paper. If using a square pan, leave some parchment hanging over the edges.

2. In a small bowl, toss 1 cup of the strawberries and the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside to macerate.

3. In a large bowl, combine the butter and remaining sugar and, using a hand mixer, cream them together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs one at a time until creamy and combined. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla until just combined. Add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt, then beat on low until barely combined (you’ll still have streaks of flour). Switch to a spatula or wooden spoon and fold in the remaining unmacerated strawberries and corn until just combined.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Spoon the macerated strawberries and all their juices over the top of the batter, then sprinkle with sugar.

5. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cake is puffed, golden and pulling away from the sides of the pan, 60 to 70 minutes. (A tester inserted into the center should come out with only a few moist crumbs attached.) Cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and serve warm, or cool completely, about 2 hours.