Sugar & Stilettos - Orange Cranberry Cornmeal Cake

Follow us on:

SUGAR & STILETTOS RECIPES
Nanci Christopher
May 15, 2009

ORANGE CRANBERRY CORNMEAL CAKE
By Zoe Nathan of
HUCKLEBERRY BAKERY AND CAFÉ

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ tablespoons vanilla
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 ¾ sticks) butter, softened
1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 ¼ teaspoon salt*
Zest of 1 orange
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 ½ cups cranberries, divided (fresh, frozen and even dried work well)

*If this seems like a lot of salt to you don’t hesitate to reduce it as you see fit.

PREHEAT the oven to 375F degrees. GREASE a 9-inch round springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

IN A MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, oil and vanilla. Set aside.

IN THE BOWL OF A STAND MIXER with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, 1 ½ cups of sugar, salt and zest. Mix just until thoroughly combined; do not overmix.

WITH THE MIXER RUNNING, slowly incorporate the egg mixture into the butter until combined.

WITH THE MIXER ON LOW SPEED, add one half of the flour mixture to the batter and quickly mix for 5 seconds. Turn off the mixer and add the rest of the flour, the ricotta and one half of the cranberries. Mix the remaining ingredients into the batter over low speed just until combined, being careful not to overmix.

GENTLY pour the batter into the cake pan and smooth the top. Scatter the remaining cranberries over the top of the cake and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.

BAKE the cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about an hour and 15 minutes but don’t be surprised if it takes longer depending on your oven. Place a loose piece of foil over the top of the cake if it starts to darken.

COOL the cake on a wire rack before removing it from the pan.

***This is a MONSTER of a cake. It is sweet and tart and just GORGEOUS to look at. You can serve it with some fresh sweet whipped cream but it is luscious and delicious all on its own and I guarantee you that people will go nuts for it. I was recently in Zoe Nathan’s Huckleberry Bakery and Café (Santa Monica, California) and saw this same cake on the menu but using blueberries which were in season…can’t wait to try that version too…YUM!

Back to Recipe List