Preheat oven to 350°F. Place melted butter in a 9- x 9-inch baking dish.
1/4 cup butter
Gently stir sliced strawberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a large bowl until totally combined. Let strawberry mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 15 minutes.
1 quart fresh strawberries, 1 Tablespoon lemon zest plus 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and remaining sugar in a medium bowl until combined.
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Whisk together buttermilk and vanilla in a glass measuring cup. Add buttermilk mixture into flour mixture, and continue to stir until the batter is smooth.
1/2 cup whole buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour the dough mixture evenly over melted butter. (Do not stir.) Using a slotted spoon, scatter strawberry mixture evenly over batter.
Drizzle 3 tablespoons of accumulated juice from bottom of bowl over strawberries. Discard any remaining juice.
Bake in preheated oven until batter is puffed and slightly golden in the center and dark golden brown around edges, 30-35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack at least 15 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.
vanilla ice cream