French Strawberry Poppyseed Cake {For Tuesdays with Dorie}

If you've ever read the little "about me" description in the sidebar, one of the first things you would have noticed is that I'm very proud of my husband's profession.  He chose to be a part of our country's military and has served during some of the most controversial times in our history.  I couldn't be more humbled at his dedication and love for his job.  Of course, being the wife of an military guy isn't always easy.  Deployments and time away from home make family life difficult.  But you learn to take it in stride and make the best of time you have. 

You can't pick the days your husband is away and it often falls on a birthday, anniversary or milestone in someone's life.  On those days I get to be both Mom and Dad for our sons' first birthdays, kindergarten graduations and first steps.  I don't get to be sad about it because letting that happen would make the day less than what it should be for my kids.  That would be incredibly unfair to them.  My job is to put a smile on my face and show my kids that life is what you make of it.

Sometimes those special days missed are ones like this past weekend- Father's day and my husband's graduation from the Naval War College as he earned a Master's Degree.  I wasn't able to fly across the country and be with him on those special days.  But he knows we're thinking of him and couldn't be prouder.  I often make something from his list of favorites on those sorts days in honor of him even though we can't be together to share and enjoy it.  It's my way of trying to make the distance between us seem a little less.

I know he would have enjoyed this strawberry cake.  It reminded me very much of a strawberry shortcake, which is one of our favorites.  So this one was dedicated to a extraordinarily special husband and Dad.   We missed you and couldn't be prouder of you!

This cake is a Tuesdays with Dorie post.  As always, we are asked not to share the recipe with you, but to encourage you to seek out the book Baking with Julia and try it yourself.  What I can tell you is that I baked the cake in a smaller pan than was called for so that I would have a taller cake.  So instead of an 8 inch pan, I used a 6 inch pan.  The batter didn't quite all fit in the pan, but I was happy with the height I got.  And I added 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds to the batter as I was folding in the flour.  I've tried it before and been delighted at the outcome, and was not disappointed with how it worked in this cake either.  Even my kids loved the poppy seeds.

Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers and the hosts of this weeks recipe (where you can find the recipe), Sophia, and Allison.  I'm enjoying baking along with these ladies so much!