Lemon Raspberry Cornmeal Cake
Published June 23, 2022

- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus cooling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup/113 grams unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan
- 2lemons
- ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons
- 2large eggs
- ¾cup/185 grams sour cream
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or ½ teaspoon fine salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1½teaspoons baking powder
- ½teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼cups/160 grams all-purpose flour
- ½cup/70 grams fine cornmeal
- 1(6-ounce/170-gram) container fresh raspberries
- 1 to 2tablespoons lemon juice (from half of one of the zested lemons from the cake)
- ¾cup/75 grams sifted confectioners’ sugar
- Pinch of salt
For the Cake
For the Glaze
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round or 8-inch square pan, then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Step 2
Zest the 2 lemons into a large mixing bowl. Add ¾ cup/150 grams of sugar and the eggs, and whisk vigorously until pale and smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Step 3
Add the sour cream, melted butter and salt, and mix until smooth and emulsified. Whisk in the baking powder and baking soda.
- Step 4
Add the flour and cornmeal, and stir until just a few streaks of flour remain. Add ⅔ of the raspberries and fold them into the batter.
- Step 5
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and top with the remaining raspberries. Sprinkle the remaining 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar over the top.
- Step 6
Bake the cake until puffed and golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Step 7
Carefully run a thin knife or offset spatula around the edge of the pan, then set the pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely in the pan. When the cake is cool, remove it from the pan, gently peel off the parchment and set it on a serving plate.
- Step 8
While the cake cools, make the glaze: Juice some of the zested lemon to produce 2 tablespoons of juice. To a medium bowl, add the confectioners’ sugar, a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Whisk until smooth, adding more lemon juice as necessary to make a thin but still opaque glaze.
- Step 9
Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and let it set for a few minutes before serving. Store any leftovers at room temperature, loosely covered for up to 2 days.
Private Notes
Comments
I used almond flour in place of the cornmeal and Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and it turned out delicious.
You must REALLY like rosemary. As an experienced pro chef patissier, I would warn against using such a powerful herbaceous, pine flavor like rosemary in a sweet dessert, especially one with such a standout but delicate seasonal fruit like raspberry. As another clearly experienced reader commented, culinary food grade lavender would be a MUCH better suggestion. Frankly, the recipe is superb as is. Go light with ANY herbal addition to any dessert recipe. 4 tablespoons of ANY herb will foul it
This was so easy and a big hit. I used whole-milk goat Skyr instead of sour cream and reduced the sugar to about 1/2 cup. I made the glaze using less sugar also (about 1/4 cup.) All in, the sweetness was perfect for a dessert cake. Texture really lovely.
My family absolutely adored this cake which my 3-year-old granddaughter and I made to celebrate 3 family birthdays all around the same time. Due to a family genetic cholesterol problem I substituted low-fat Greek yogurt for sour cream and canola oil for butter. Even with the substitutions, it was absolutely delicious.
What a good, simple cake. Used 1/3 cup sugar, raspberries & blackberries. Bakes up fluffy with a lovely texture for a cake with cornmeal, no glaze needed.
Add more fruit to the batter. Good with blueberries. Definitely make the glaze with lemon or lime.
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