Memorial Day weekend often kick-starts the summer entertaining season with a gathering of friends, neighbors or family — and sometimes, all three — in the form of a cookout in someone's backyard or a party on the porch.

Oftentimes, the menu is pretty casual, with grilled burgers, hot dogs and barbecued chicken taking center stage on the picnic table, and simple salads and bagged potato chips rounding out the side dishes.

That's all well and good until it comes to dessert. I mean, we've waited so long for summer to (unofficially) begin. Shouldn't we end our celebrations of it with a sweet and seasonal bang?

A fancy cake mold I got for Mother's Day offered some inspiration for upcoming warm weather gatherings.

My go-to source for cake recipes has always been Martha Stewart because she makes even complicated recipes seem easy. This awesome bundt cake caught my eye because of the summery addition of citrus: The moist, sour cream-rich batter is brightened with fresh lemon juice and zest.

I also thought it would pair well with a giant bucket of local strawberries I bought at a roadside stand in rural Virginia, and planned on turning into sauce or conserve. The fact both the cake and sauce disappeared in just a couple of days proved I was right.

To guarantee the best bundt cake ever for your summer party, be sure to grease the entire surface of the pan with butter or shortening and then thoroughly dust it with a dry ingredient like flour or powdered sugar. You'll also want to tap the filled pan on the counter a few times before placing it in the oven to release any air bubbles.

Resist the urge to flip the cake onto a serving platter until it's cooled for at least 10 minutes, or you could end up with a broken cake.

Lemon Bundt Cake with Strawberry Sauce

PG tested

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

6 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

Confectioners' sugar for dusting, optional

For strawberry sauce

1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and thickly sliced

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, lemon zest, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; mix in lemon juice.

With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).

Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth top with a rubber spatula. Firmly tap pan on a work surface to level batter.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean; 55-60 minutes. (If cake browns too quickly, tent loosely with aluminum foil. My cake took about 65 minutes in 10-cup fluted bundt pan.) Let cake cool in pan 30 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

While cake is cooling, prepare strawberry sauce.

In a medium saucepan, combine sliced strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Strawberries will release juice without any mashing required.

Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes, or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Slice cake and serve with strawberry on top or on the side. If you like, dust the cake with a little confectioners' sugar before serving.

Serves 8-10.

— adapted from marthastewart.com.