Pie Plate Strawberry Cake

I first saw this on Martha Stewart's show and I've made this quite a few times. You can go to the following website and see a photo of how it ends up looking:  http://www.marthastewart.com/336020/strawberry-cake *

*I put a few less strawberries on top because I like to use this recipe as the 'shortcake' part of Strawberry Shortcake by pouring a little 'strawberry sauce' over this.  To make it quite 'fancy', you can top with whipped cream or a small amount of ice cream. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
~~~~
6 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for the pie plate
1 cup sugar plus an extra 2 tablespoons sugar for the top
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
~~~~
1/2 to 1 pound strawberries, hulled/halved and set aside.

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Spray a 10-inch pie plate with non-stick spray and set aside.  Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into a medium bowl.  Set aside.

2.  Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

3.  Reduce speed to low, gradually mixing in flour mixture. Transfer batter to sprayed  pie plate.  Arrange strawberries on top of batter, with the cut sides downward in whatever design you want.  Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoon sugar over berries and top of cake.

4.  Bake the cake  for just 10 minutes at 350-degrees.  Reduce oven temperature to 325-degrees.  Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 45 minutes longer (I tested its middle with a toothpick).  Let cool in pie plate on a wire rack.  Cut into wedges.  Cake can be stored in refrigerator OR at room temperature, loosely covered, for up to 2 days.