Strawberry Crumb Cakes

These little treats have a soft and spongy cake base topped with macerated strawberries and a pecan crumble. Since strawberries are just becoming locally available, I decided to go with a dessert that was a little warmer, and didn't scream summer as there's going to be plennntttyy of time for that! This is an easy and delicious recipe with three distinct and lovely layers. I decided to use a biscuit cutter on these as a way to add some freshness to a dessert that would usually just get the square treatment.

Strawberry Crumb Cakes

Crumb
Ingredients
12 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of chopped pecans, toasted if preferred

Directions
Thoroughly mix all ingredients together in a bowl until a dough-like mixture forms. Smush into a solid mass. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Strawberries
Ingredients
Two pounds strawberries, hulled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup flour

Directions
Thoroughly mix all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside to macerate.

Cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9"x13" baking pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Grease parchment.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. In stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs with vanilla, one at a time and beat until fully incorporated. Add dry ingredients to mixer and mix until just incorporated.

Assembly
Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread strawberry mixture evenly on top. Remove crumb topping from refrigerator and break up into large pieces. Sprinkle evenly on top of strawberries. Bake approx 55 minutes of until skewer comes out clean. Cool completely on rack and then remove using the parchment overhang. Using preferred cutter size, cut cakes. With the size I used, I was able to get 12 cakes.

Adapted from: Martha Stewart