Cornmeal Blueberry Cake

The best part of this cake are the crispy edges!  If the top browns before the cake is done, cover with foil for the remainder of the baking time.

Adapted from a recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 TBSP butter, room temperature
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 TBSP buttermilk
• 1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, lemon zest and salt in a large measuring cup. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until  light and well-incorporated.  Add the egg and vanilla.
4. Beat in half of the flour mixture into the egg mixture.  Add the buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture, beating in between.  Scrape the sides down as needed .
5. *If doubling the recipe, add flour mixture in thirds, combining the last third of flour with the blueberries before folding it into the batter.
6. Fold in the blueberries.
7. Spread into the green oval Le Crueset baking dish.
8. Baking until golden brown and the edges are crisped, about 45 minutes.

The recipe as is yields a thin crisp cake, almost cross-between a cookie.  Doubling the recipe would likely yield a thicker more cake-like structure.

Pineapple Coconut Cornbread

I visited a friend in Seattle and had dinner at a local spot in Capitol Hill.  The restaurant served a slightly sweet version of cornbread that was just perfect for dessert.  I was inspired to make a similar version and headed to the internet to find a recipe.  Adding pineapple to cornbread was a new idea to me, but it apparently is not as novel as I had thought.  There was a good collection of this tropical cornbread, and after just a few minutes of searching, low and behold, the restaurant’s recipe was actually featured in a local newspaper.  It was a hit at our annual Independence Day BBQ

http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/plain-or-fanciful-cornbread-is-tasty-either-way/

The salty-sweet contrast and the texture are the highlights of this dish.  There is just a slight aroma of pineapple hiding behind the more predominant toasted coconut.  Next time, I think I will try a twist on the pineapple upside down cake.  Caramelized pineapple in addition to pineapple throughout the cake with boost that pineapple flavor.

For square baking dish.  Use 1 1/2 times recipe for 9X13 dish

1 cup all-purpose flour

11/8 cup medium-grind cornmeal

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1¼ teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

4 eggs

1½ cups frozen corn, thawed (or canned corn, drained)

1 packed cup crushed canned pineapple, drained

¼ cup creme fraiche (or sour cream)

4 ounces grated cheddar cheese

Shredded sweetened coconut to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Grease and flour a 2-quart baking dish.

3. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.

4. Beat butter on high. Add eggs; beat well.

5. Beat in flour mixture on low speed just until combined.

6. Stir in corn, drained pineapple, creme fraiche and grated cheese.

7. Bake about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

8. Pile a generous amount of shredded coconut on top and bake at 400 degrees F for several additional minutes to lightly toast the coconut.