The arrival of Spring means lots more sunshine. I can think of no better way to celebrate this sunny time than with a light lemony cake.
cornbread cake
Below is a recipe for a sunny, slightly sweet cornmeal cake. This recipe is adapted from one that was published in the April 2009 issue of Bon Appétit magazine. I tweaked the original cake by using Meyer lemons, reducing the sugar, replacing half the butter with olive oil and preparing a forced buttermilk (milk + lemon juice).
Why all the changes? Cutting back on the sugar allowed the natural sweetness of the Meyer lemons to shine through. Olive oil is more heart healthy than butter and compliments the earthiness of the cornmeal. Finally the forced buttermilk contributes tenderness and an additional citrus note that you just can’t get from regular buttermilk.
The resulting cake is akin to a dessert style cornbread and is lovely after a light meal or as a delicate finish to a weekend brunch.
Meyer Lemon Cornbread Cake
Adapted from Bon Appétit
1 T Meyer lemon zest (from 1-2 lemons)
2 T Meyer lemon juice
1 c low fat milk
4 T unsalted butter
1 ½ c all purpose flour
½ cup coarse yellow cornmeal
½ c sugar
3 ½ t baking powder
½ t salt
2 large eggs (room temperature)
4 T olive oil
½ t vanilla extract
Glaze: (optional)
¾ c powdered sugar
2 T Meyer lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 9-inch round glass baking dish with butter or nonstick spray.
Zest one large or two small Meyer lemon(s) using a microplane or fine teeth of a box grater – result should be approximately 1 tablespoon of zest. Next cut the lemon in half and juice it, discarding any seeds. You should have between 3-4 T of lemon juice – if not then squeeze an additional lemon half until you have adequate juice. (If Meyer lemons are hard to find then use traditional lemons and increase the sugar level in the cake to ¾ of a cup.)
Pour milk into a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir juice and milk together and set aside – milk should slightly curdle forming a type of quick buttermilk.
In a separate small bowl melt butter in microwave (approximately 30 seconds) and then set aside to cool.
In a large bowl combine dry ingredients including flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add lemon zest by sprinkling over dry ingredients – using fingers to break up clumps as you sprinkle. Whisk to combine.
Crack and beat eggs. Add eggs to dry ingredients. Next add butter, olive oil, milk and lemon juice mixture and vanilla to the large bowl. Stir until just combined – a few small lumps are fine. Do not over mix or resulting cake will be tough.
Pour batter into baking dish and spread evenly. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Remove from oven and slide knife around edges to ensure easy release. Invert cake onto cooling rack and let cool about 20-30 minutes.
If including glaze:
Combine remaining lemon juice (about 2 T) with powdered sugar. Stir together until smooth and thick. Glaze should slip off the end of a spoon with just a little resistance (consistency of maple syrup). Use additional lemon juice (or water) to adjust consistency of glaze as needed.
Return still-warm cake to cake pan. Pour glaze onto top of cake and spread with spatula. Allow cake to cool completely and then slice and serve.
The cake is excellent as is or turn up the spring time by topping with macerated strawberries. Cake holds well when covered tightly with plastic wrap and left on counter, for up to a week if it lasts that long.
Margot – made the cake this weekend (with glaze). It was easy and delicious!