Lemon Raspberry Cornmeal Cake
Published June 22, 2022
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus cooling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan
2 lemons
¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons
2 large eggs
¾ cup/185 grams sour cream
¾ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or ½ teaspoon fine salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ cups/160 grams all-purpose flour
½ cup/70 grams fine cornmeal
1 (6-ounce/170-gram) container fresh raspberries
FOR THE GLAZE
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from half of one of the zested lemons from the cake)
¾ cup/75 grams sifted confectioners’ sugar
Pinch of salt
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
57 grams carbs; 91 milligrams cholesterol; 401 calories; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 18 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 358 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 32 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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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.
I also reduced the leavening a bit, to 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp of baking soda. The crumb was perfect. I always find that recipes use too much leavening which can produce craggy holes and uneven crumb. Plus if using too much baking soda, it can leave an aftertaste. Shirley Corriher, the food scientist, has good explanations on how much leavening to use in cakes, both with and without acidic ingredients, including the ratio of flour to baking powder and, if using, baking soda.
I blended the zest with the sugar and a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice with pulp that was left after juicing the lemons. Added a little extra zest to the glaze as well. We added two layers of raspberries, one in middle and another on top, poking every other raspberry down to distribute raspberries throughout without mushing them. The corn-flour crumb and burst of raspberry combined with the lemon is really perfect. Dense but tender crumb, not heavy. Best little cake ever, a real keeper.
Used GF flour and 1/2 C of full fat yogurt instead of 3/4 C sour cream (I previously found the batter to be too runny). I also skipped the lemon zest as I was short of time. Rather than a cake made 19 cupcakes. Very good as a GF recipe and as a cupcake/muffin recipe for raspberries.