There’s really no excuse.  You should make this cake.  It’s so easy and happy… look at it studded with berry pockets… you’re smiling a little right? And I’m not asking you to go buy rye flour or a spray bottle.  A little orange zest… some buttermilk… maybe a glass of tea… and you’re good to go.  If you don’t have buttermilk don’t stress.  You’re probably one of my girlfriends (does anyone else read this blog?) and I KNOW you have greek yogurt in your fridge.  Spare a little snacking yogurt to replace the buttermilk in this… you could also substitute lemon for the orange… blueberries for the raspberries… I’ll never make you choose.

Inspired by SmittenKitchen

You’ll need:

1 cup flour

0.5 teaspoon baking powder

0.5 teaspoon baking soda

0.25 teaspoon salt

0.5 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup regular cane sugar

Raw sugar for sprinkling on top (or just use more cane sugar… about 2 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

0.5 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1 large egg

0.5 cup buttermilk

1 cup fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer (or aggressively by hand) at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla and zest. Add egg and beat well.

Mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined (1/3 of flour, half of buttermilk, 1/3 of flour, half of buttermilk, 1/3 of flour, fin).

Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Place raspberries evenly over top (look at the picture and you can see I did mine facing upwards) and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely.