Last week we ushered in strawberry season with a salad. But this week we’re getting serious: we’ve got a new cake from Abby Dodge that you’re going to love. The moist vanilla cake itself is a recipe you’ll want to hold on to for all kinds of occasions, but the strawberry whipped cream-mascarpone frosting is ethereal, easy to make, and the essence of early summer. Convinced?!

Better still, this is the perfect potluck cake because you can serve it right out of the 9 x 13-inch pan you bake it in if you like. If you want to go fancy, the Vanilla Cake with Whipped Strawberry Frosting can also be baked in round cake pans, layered, and frosted (with naked sides) to make a nice graduation or other celebration cake. Bookmark this one for Juneteenth.

I really think the cake may be my favorite Abby Dodge strawberry dessert yet, but there is stiff competition for my top spot: Strawberry Hand Pies are such fun to make and they double as breakfast or dessert. They can be frozen, unbaked, up to a month before serving so they are lovely for summer brunch, too.

I’m also a big fan of Abby’s Strawberry Short Cake recipe because of those buttery biscuits.

For my own strawberry recipes, I enjoy experimenting with roasted strawberries as well as fresh. When I’m up for mixing strawberries with rhubarb, I often make this Roasted Rhubarb Strawberry Compote and use it in a few different things.

The compote works well as a filling for a mini-galette.

Or you can fold it into whipped mascarpone cream to make a Roasted Rhubarb Strawberry Fool with buttery graham cracker crumbs.

Hey, you can even use the compote in savory dishes, as a condiment for grilled pork tenderloin or lamb.

One of my favorite flavor pairings with strawberries is ginger. (I know, I like ginger with everything!) In addition to my Gingery Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp, I like these Strawberry Ginger Muffins an awful lot.

When I want to serve a simple fresh strawberry dessert, I do a kind of strawberry “salad," like this recipe for Maple-Balsamic Strawberries with Crème Fraiche. And this dish is of course is even better with a bit of minced crystallized ginger.

Of course you can always put strawberries into a savory salad, like this June Strawberry, Tatsoi and Goat Cheese Salad or the Quick-Roasted Beet and Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese and Local Greens.

When I was little I loved a children’s book called Jellybeans for Breakfast. This week, why not strawberries for breakfast, lunch and dinner?!

Don’t miss our latest installment of Ask Jenny (What can I do with all those withered veggies?) and the latest food story in The Vine – just published last week – on Five Things To Eat and Drink at the Airport Marketplace.

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