Preheat your oven to 180°C (350F). Grease a 9×13-inch cake pan with butter and fit the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper. Or if you are lazy like me just go ahead and cover the whole pan with parchment. I honestly find it easier to pull the cake out of the pan too like this.

Clean the strawberries well. I like to soak them in vinegar water for about 5 mins and then give them a rinse under running water. Remove the top green part and slice them into two vertically.

Sift both the flours along with the baking powder. Ideally, sift them thrice but if you are in a hurry like I mostly am sift at least once. I am not too trusting of the flour you get in India and always always sift even when the recipe doesn't specifically ask for it. Set this aside till your wet mixture is ready.

In a large bowl, using your hand mixer beat butter and sugar (minus the 40gm reserved for the top) until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, don't be afraid if this curdles a bit it will self-correct itself. But if you are still afraid throw in a tsp of maida. Add buttermilk and continue to blend in.

At this point, fold in your flour in three batches. Be gentle with it but make sure there is no dry flour left.

Pour the batter in the prepared pan and then line them with chopped strawberries cut part down as tightly as you can. Sprinkle the 40gm sugar on top. It might seem a lot but it is needed and all kind of awesome. It turns the strawberry into these jammy goey things and gives the top this crusty beautiful texture.

Bake for about 30 mins or the toothpick comes out clean from the cake part. Cool completely before slicing i.e. if you are impatient like us. The cake is good for 4 days but won't last this long. I assure you, ours never does!