A delicious, fruit-forward peach cornmeal cake that beautifully captures the flavors of the moment. It’s versatile, too — swap in whatever summer fruit you have on hand.
Summer cookouts and gatherings are starting to pop up on my social calendar. When asked to bring something, I have my standbys like onion dip potato salad or green goddess vegetable dip. But dessert is nice, too.
This versatile peach cornmeal cake is one of those back pocket recipes that can be made in a couple hours with basics from the pantry and 2 cups of fresh stone fruit or berries.
An Ideal Crumb
The cake has a springy, light crumb, with a just-crisp golden edge. Creamed butter and sugar, and beaten eggs make for a lofty, buttery crumb. Flecks of fine grind cornmeal add texture and just a hint of sweetness that sits well alongside the summer fruit. I like the sharp, bright flavors that lemon zest brings in, but if you have particularly sour fruit, you can skip it.
The Right Summer Fruit
Here, I used a mix of over-ripe and regular peaches. Peach peels can be bitter and prevent the fruit from fully melding into the cake, so it’s worth taking the time to remove them. This is easily done with a peeler. If the fruit is very ripe, you might be able to peel the fruit by hand. Swap in 2 cups of sliced nectarines or plums, or sweet or sour cherries, blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries.
Use a Springform
An 8-inch springform pan is the ideal baking vessel for this peach cornmeal cake.
If you don’t have one, generously butter an 8-inch cake pan, add parchment to the bottom of the pan and butter that too. Then, tap 1 – 2 tablespoons of flour around the bottom and sides of the pan. No matter what kind of pan you use, you’ll want to run a knife along the sides before unmolding the cooled cake.
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened; use the wrapper to butter the pan
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon flour, divided
- 1/4 cup fine grind cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups peeled, 1/8-inch thick sliced peaches
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (grate zest to use in batter)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, full fat is ideal, sub regular yogurt or whole milk
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan. Add a parchment round to the bottom and butter that, too. If using a regular pan, lightly flour the pan as well.
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In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together 3/4 cup flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
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In a medium bowl, toss the peaches or other fruit with the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon flour.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using handheld beaters and a large mixing bowl, beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for two minutes more, or until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, add the vanilla, and then the lemon zest.
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Switch mixer to low and fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Add the yogurt and mix just until combined.
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Spoon mixture into prepared baking pan. It will be quite thick — use an offset spatula to spread the batter out. Starting on the outer edge and working your way in, tuck the sliced fruit into the cake batter, taking care to press each slice lightly in. If using berries or cherries, scatter the fruit over top and gently press it into the top. Bake cake for 45 - 55 minutes, until the edges are golden and just pulling away from the edge of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached.
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Cool 30 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and open the spring form. Let the cake cool completely. If cake was baked in a regular pan, let it cool completely before running a knife along the edge, flipping it out onto a plate, and then quickly re-flipping so the cake is right side up.
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Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
lovely, and I like the texture change and taste of cornmeal, it’s a nice tweak to this, as well as a perfect use of too many summer peaches, thank you!
Did you happen to find the amount of vanilla extract?
I updated the recipe — should be 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.