img alt text

Ode to Breakfast
Lemon Cornmeal Cake

recipe by george weld & evan hanczor photography by bryan gardner
The Love & Lemons Cookbook

Lemon Cornmeal Cake

If you like your cornbread sweet, fine. But then call it what it is—a cake. This makes an excellent light breakfast with coffee or juice.

Ingredients
  • ¾ cup finely ground cornmeal
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3½ tablespoons melted unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar


Download Recipe
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Sift together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together eggs, sugar, and zest. Set over a small pot of hot water, double-boiler style, and whisk until warm to touch, about 2 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until the mixture thickens and lightens in color, and forms ribbons when the whisk is lifted, about 5–6 minutes.
  4. In another bowl, combine oil, milk, and lemon juice. Return mixer to medium speed, and drizzle this into egg mixture. Reduce to low speed, and add the combined cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Finally, drizzle in melted butter, and combine.
  5. Line an 8-inch metal loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour batter into pan, and bake for 40–45 minutes, rotating once. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick or the tip of a sharp knife into the center of the cake—it should come out clean, and the cake should spring back when gently touched.
  6. Remove cake from the oven, and immediately sprinkle the sugar on top. Place pan on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Carefully lift cake out of the pan, and return it to the rack to finish cooling.
SERVES 6-8

Posted in Issue 82 Vol 1, Recipe on Feb 01, 2017