Cream the sugar and butter. Add the cup of sugar and butter to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, continue to mix until incorporated, add vanilla, and mix well. 

Make the batter. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients flour, baking powder and salt). A little at a time, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, fold in to incorporate.  Repeat until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Add in the ricotta cheese, fold to combine.  

Add in 1 + 1/2 cups chopped strawberries. Use a spatula to gently fold together.

Coat a springform pan with non-stick cooking spray (you can also use parchment paper*). Add your batter to the pan. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of strawberries.

Sprinkle the 1/4 cup sugar over the top of the batter and fresh strawberries. This will make a nice crust.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and almost set up. Test the center with a toothpick. Note – if the toothpick has a tiny bit of batter on it, that’s ok. Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, the cake will continue to set/bake after you take it out of the oven to cool.

Serve with vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream. Optional, top with powdered sugar