The easiest cake of all time - strawberry buttermilk cake

I don't have a lot of baked goods in my repertoire and I'm trying to fix that. I'm a little scared of baking since it's a bit more precise and if you screw it up you have to start over. Cakes are really the scariest because if you're serving it to others you can't try it first! I asked Wes what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday and he said a Victoria sponge (a truly British staple). I'm sure my face turned white with fear and he back-pedaled to brownies. My excuse was my lack of round baking pans. ;-)

I'm not sure where I came across this cake, but it is truly the easiest thing I've ever baked. It's a good way to use up leftover buttermilk. My first time turned out a little dry, but this last time it was perfectly moist. I found the recipe on this site, but apparently she adapted the recipe from Gourmet magazine. She says this is the perfect recipe for a brunch and I completely agree. Gourmet uses raspberries for this recipe and someone commented on the other food blog that they think it's delicious with blueberries. A mixture would be nice too!

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1-1/2 Tbsp sugar, divided
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh strawberries(about 5 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (I did 180°C in my fan oven); with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round (or square in my case!) cake pan.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla.
4. Add egg and beat well.
5. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.
6. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1-1/2 Tbsp sugar.
7. Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25-30 minute. (Check after 20 minutes so it doesn't dry out.)
8. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate. (I don't have a rack, so I just let it cool in the pan. It was fine.)

Enjoy!