Oh my, no matter that it was still officially spring, last week was a perfect summer day.

Was it always sunny? Not really, but for Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, the clouds didn’t explode with raindrops and the humidity stayed around 70 percent. In Groton and Madison, there was always a soft breeze.

Friday I learned how to make a watermelon “sorbet” (well, it required some sweetened condensed milk) and I will try it with other fruits. Next week I will give you that recipe (and the new friend who created it).

For today, now that strawberries are local and delicious, I give you a cake and berry combination. Strawberries’ two- or three-week season may be my favorite time of the year. At least until it’s corn time, or tomato time, or basil time.

Toasted-almond Cake with Strawberries in Whipped Cream

Adapted from Gourmet, June 2007, page 143

Yield: about 8 to 10 servings

Three-quarters cup whole almonds with skins (one-quarter pound), toasted and cooled

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs at room temperature, about 30 minutes

1 ¼ cup superfine granulated sugar (I put sugar into processor to get it fine)

1 ½ sticks (three-quarter cup) unsalted butter, melted and cool

1/3 cup milk (2 percent is fine)

¼ teaspoon almond extract

½ cup sliced almonds

2 pints frozen strawberries with sugar, thawed, or 2 pints fresh strawberries, sugared to taste

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or one-half teaspoon rose water)

1 and one-half heavy cream, whipped

Put oven rack on middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 8- or 9-inch square or round cake pan.

With blender on high, add half the toasted almonds through top hole and finely grind (be careful not to grind to a paste). Transfer to bowl and grind remaining almonds in same manner, transferring to bowl. Add flour, baking powder and salt to ground almonds and whisk until combined well.

Beat eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until foamy, about 15 seconds, then add sugar a little at a time, beating. Continue beating until mixture is thick, pale and forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, 7 to 8 minutes in a stand mixer or 10 to 14 minutes with a handheld. Add butter in a slow stream, then add milk and almond extract and beat until just combined. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

Spread batter in pan, smoothing top, and then sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake until top is golden, cake begins to pull away from side of pan and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes in clean, around 25 to 35 minutes, depending on size of cake pan. Cool on a rack around 30 minutes, then run knife around edge to loosen and invert onto rack. Take cake right side up on rack and cool completely.

To serve, slice cake onto individual plates, cover with strawberries and top with lots of whipped cream.

Lee White lives in Groton. She can be reached at leeawhite@aol.com.

ON THE SIDE

The Original Oat-Ly!

Two friends live in my condo complex. One is vegan, the other is willing to eat vegan at home. Also, they are younger than all my children but I love them madly. Last night they visited and brought me a bouquet of flowers for my birthday.

They also gave me a half-gallon of oat milk because they know I am lactose-intolerant (my GI doc says many people, as they age, get this way). I have no problem using 2 percent in my coffee and with baking, of course. And I don’t understand why non-vegan people use oat milk (yeah, yeah, cows!). So I tried a glass; it was a little too creamy. But I added my own chocolate sauce and it is yummy. Then I poured it in a blender, added some crushed ice and a few tablespoons of dairy-free chocolate ice cream. Now you’re talking!

The Original Oat-Ly!

Available in the dairy section of most supermarkets