Strawberry update: I totally made the cake Rebecca recommended. Since I don' t have anything even faintly resembling a springform pan, I used a smallish rectangular pyrex casserole dish. I also used whole wheat flour instead of the presumptive white. Together, these two circumstances resulted in a cake too shallow for the berries to really sink in and provide moisture. The result tasted good, but it was dry.

After some experimentation, I concluded that the best way to save dryish strawberry cake is to toast it in the toaster oven, split it in half, and spread it with peanut butter. Voila: peanut butter and jelly sandwich cake! In conclusion, I win.