Simple Summer Fruit Cornmeal Cake
A slightly crunchy cake (from the cornmeal) with a delectable fruit top, this cake will be a star at any summer meal. Use peaches, nectarines, plums, blueberries, blackberries or any combination instead of fresh apricots and raspberries.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup AP white flour 1 &5/6 oz/80 g
- 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal 1&4/5 oz/52 g
- 1 pinch sea or kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 4 oz/113 g
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 & 1/2 oz/100 g
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark), divided 3 & 1/4 oz/106 g. See note.
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 1 teaspoon vanilla optional
- stone fruit (to be sliced) or berries - amount depends on what you use See note
- whipped cream (optional)
- fruit sauce (optional) One easy sauce is made by heating berries (perhaps with a sprinkling of sugar and lemon juice) until they become saucy.
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350°/180° C. Use parchment on bottom of cake pan or lightly oil it.
-
Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder in a small/medium bowl. Set aside.
-
Cream butter with the granulated sugar and half of the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. (Reserve the other half of the brown sugar for the top of the cake.) If using a stand mixer, it should take about 3-5 minutes at medium speed. Creaming with a hand electric mixer takes a bit longer and by hand (without a mixer) may take 10 or more minutes.
-
Add the flour/cornmeal mixture, along with both eggs, the grated lemon rind, and the vanilla if you're using it. Continue beating until the batter is a uniform color and texture, yellow and thick.
-
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out with a knife. Use an offset metal spatula if you have one. Otherwise a butter knife works fine.
-
If using stone fruit, split the fruit in half. I used apricots and cut the halves into thick slices, making a pattern with raspberries and the apricot slices, skin side up. Depending on the size of your pan and the type of fruit, you may use anywhere between 1-2 small apricots and a few raspberries to several peaches or plums. Top with remaining brown sugar or demerara sugar.
-
Bake for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Then open the springform and slide the cake onto a platter or flip it over if using and "regular" pan and then flip it back, so that the fruit is on top. If you slice the stone fruit (instead of leaving it in halves), it may disappear during the baking. But that doesn't matter. It just looks more rustic and the taste is there.
-
Serve with whipped cream or thickened yogurt, possibly with a fruit sauce on the side.
Recipe Notes
Topping - if you prefer an even crunchier topping, use Demerara or natural sugar instead of the 1/4 cup of brown sugar.
The easiest way to split a stone fruit is to cut it in half from the stem to the bottom along the cleft, then twist to open it. Here's a handy guide by my pal, Abby Dodge.