There are very few sad moments when it comes to baking butter cakes with ripe summer berries.
True, there could be some fretting when it comes to waiting for the cake to cool. And there’s always the resigned sigh when the last piece is devoured and all the crumbs licked of the plate.
But for the most part, a soft, moist cake dotted with juicy berries that explode into tart jammy pockets in the oven’s heat should yield nothing but pleasure.
Unless, that is you’ve got your heart set on a cake in which the berries remain on top in a colourful design instead of sinking into the batter.
This was my goal, and it seemed like a modest one. But as I witnessed cake after cake emerge from the oven with the pretty berries I’d arranged on top sunken beneath the golden crumb, I realized it would take some finessing.