Skip to main content

Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce

4.7

(141)

Image may contain Food Confectionery Sweets Plant Ice Cream Cream Dessert and Creme
Photo by Patricia Heal

This rustic cake gets a zing from a tangy lemon glaze. The sauce dresses up the cake for dessert (or brunch).

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups (packed) powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon Juice

Cake:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled

Preparation

  1. For glaze:

    Step 1

    Combine powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in small bowl. Stir with spoon until smooth and paste-like, adding more lemon juice by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to spread. Set aside.

  2. For cake:

    Step 2

    Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides; line bottom with parchment. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl; whisk to blend. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, lemon peel, and vanilla in small bowl. Pour buttermilk mixture and melted butter into flour mixture. Using rubber spatula, gently fold liquids into flour mixture until just blended (do not stir). Scrape batter into pan; spread evenly.

    Step 3

    Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean and cake pulls away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes.

    Step 4

    Immediately run knife around sides of cake. Place rack atop cake in pan. Using oven mitts, hold pan and rack firmly together and invert cake onto rack. Remove pan from cake. Place another rack on bottom of cake; invert 1 more time so that cake is top side up. Stir glaze until blended. While cake is still very hot, drop glaze by tablespoonfuls onto cake; spread to within 1/2 inch of edge (some glaze may drip down sides of cake). Cool completely. Serve with Crushed-Blueberry Sauce.

Read More
We don’t bake with grapes as often as we should. But even the most average supermarket varieties come alive when roasted with a bit of sugar and seasoning.
Yes, it's a shortcut in a microwave. It's also a gooey, fudgy, wildly good chocolate cake.
This cake was created from thrift and was supposedly named after its appearance, which reminded people of the muddy Mississippi River bottom.
Reminiscent of a classic diner dessert, this chocolate cream pie offers pure comfort in a cookie crust.
Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.
Layer homemade custard, ripe bananas, and vanilla wafers under clouds of whipped cream for this iconic dessert.
This Campari-spiked galette features the herbal aperitif, tart cherries, and floral citrus zest and is perfect for those who prefer bitter to sweet.
There are many things that appeal about a Basque cheesecake—it's crustless (one less job) and is meant to look “rustic” with its wrinkled and jagged sides.