Lemon Raspberry Cornmeal Cake

By Yossy Arefi

Lemon Raspberry Cornmeal Cake
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
1 hour, plus cooling
Rating
4(516)
Notes
Read community notes

This rich and tender cornmeal cake is punctuated by bright, tart raspberries and lots of lemon zest. The whole thing is topped with a drizzle of puckery lemon glaze, but the cake is also great on its own, so you could just as easily leave it off. Serve this cake as is for an afternoon treat, or add more fresh raspberries and whipped cream to dress it up for dessert.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Cake

    • 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

    For the Glaze

    • 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
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

401 calories; 18 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 32 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 358 milligrams sodium

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Step 3

    Add the sour cream, melted butter and salt, and mix until smooth and emulsified. Whisk in the baking powder and baking soda.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Step 6

    Bake the cake until puffed and golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

Ratings

4 out of 5
516 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Jessica J

I used almond flour in place of the cornmeal and Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and it turned out delicious.

Tyler

Forgot to buy sour cream so substituted full-fat greek yogurt from the fridge. Added ~1tb of minced rosemary and used meyer lemons. Fantastic!

KS

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

Pam

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.

Mary Ann

Reserved some of the copious lemon zest of 2 lemons for the glaze. Nice touch! And before baking I sprinkled the top with some courser turbinado sugar, which added a slight, pleasant crunch to the top.

Jeff

Cooks should be aware (and The Times should be more careful) that kosher salts are not the same. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (IMO THE standard) is about half as salty per unit volume than either table salt or the other common Kosher salt, Morton's. So, if you have Morton's kosher rather than Diamond Crystal, use the measure specified for fine salt, not the one for kosher salt.

Shelley

Made with rhubarb. Yum.

Steve

the butter holds the parchment in place as you add things. the parchment makes for easy removal from the pan. no need to invert the cake for removal - something which can damage a cake with delicate crumb. the parchment probably also affects how the cake browns.

AA

If you use herbs at all in this recipe, and I’m not sure they’re needed, suggest that 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp. culinary-grade lavender might be a safer bet.

Nancy

This is also delicious with blueberries instead of raspberries.

Dawn

I substitute full fat, Greek yoghurt anytime a recipe calls for sour cream. Easily interchangeable between sweet and savory, and always on hand.

Brooke

Based on a reader's comment here, I doubled the amount of raspberries. Should have TRIPLED the amount. Lovely cake just not enough berries.

HH

I forgot to add the raspberries on top before baking, but was still very nice. Subbed full fat European style yogurt for the sour cream and ground regular cornmeal as did not have fine cornmeal. The glaze was light and lemony and made the cake.

Kim

Excellent! I'm using up things from my "Covid store", so I subbed polenta for the cornmeal. I also used half whole-wheat flour instead of all white. It was still moist and delicious, and had a nice crumb. I might use a few more raspberries next time. The glaze was a good addition to a chewier cake.

c marvin

Used medium grind cornmeal. Fine. Prob fine would be better. Glaze wonderful. Only used half cup sugar. Need more if you want to cover the sides.

Sara

A perfect snacking cake! Easy to make and delicious. The cornmeal adds a really nice texture to this tender and bright cake!

Sara

Made as instructed and it was delicious. A perfect snacking cake!

R

I used frozen cranberries instead of raspberries, they held their shape well and are pleasingly tart. I did need to bake for an extra 10 minutes

Stef

Because I had no sour cream on hand, I, too, used yogurt with a dash of vinegar. Trying to be environmentally kosher, I did not use parchment paper. Simply buttering a glass baking dish was enough. Nicely browned. One 6oz container of raspberries is plenty. Only baked about 35 minutes. Super delicious!!

barbara

Some reduced sugar to 1/2 c 1 person halved butter and replaced with more yogurt

Mollie B

I made this when berries were out of season (i.e. expensive!) so I subbed them for chopped frozen rhubarb. It was still SO good. I make this 6-7 times a year- it's my 2 and 5 year olds favorite dish. Great with raspberries, blackberries or strawberries. I pass on the glaze because I'm typically trying to save time with 2 young kids- still delicious! Also... I usually add a little extra berries :)

Danielle L

I made this on Thanksgiving Eve for breakfast the next day and it's so good! Honest punch in the face of raspberry lemonade flavor in the best way. Love that it's not too sweet; it's just right. Will try again with blueberries someday soon!

Leora

Used yogurt, 1/2 cup sugar, ww pastry flour. Simple glaze: 2 Tbsp. Lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, heat for 15 seconds in microwave. Brush on immediately.

Colleen

Lovely cake , easy to prepare! I didn't have fine cornmeal - used regular - excellent result

Alex M

This was a crowd pleaser. I used zest of only one lemon to accomodate the younger palates in the room (I’ve had some negative feedback to strong lemon based deserts!). In future I’ll serve with a little whipped cream plus a few more fresh raspberries on the side). A keeper.

Rosemary S

I substituted almond flour for the cornmeal and used blueberries because that’s what I had on hand. Also added a touch of vanilla and almond extract. Absolutely delicious! My husband, who’s not a huge fan of berries in general, devoured half the cake in two sittings. I will be baking another this weekend.

Matt

As always, it would be sooo helpful for recipes like this to include gram-weight measures for the smaller items, especially baking soda, baking powder, or salt. The first two ingredients are too easy to misinterpret, and can ruin the taste if too much is added. Salt is all over the place depending on its texture (as shown in offering two examples with two measures), but it is a chemical compound and weighs the same for a given measure. Many of us have the small under-$10 scales now.

Louise

Simple and very delicious. This being blueberry season in NJ, I put fresh blueberries inside the cake and raspberries on top. Per another comment, I sprinkled a bit of demerara/turbinado sugar on top before baking and like others, subbed full-fat greek yogurt for the sour cream. Clearly, an adaptable recipe!

Kim

Made with blueberries and took out some of the sugar like some suggested. Also topped it off with some more lemon zest after I put on the glaze. Brought it to a bbq and it was gone so quick!

Jenny

This is awesome, the crumb texture is fantastic. I used frozen foraged raspberries and will be saving this recipe for future use. That said, this isn’t a life-changing recipe—it’s fabulous, but not insane.

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