Cornmeal-Berry Cake

Ingredients

• 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup fine yellow cornmeal
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp coarse salt
• 1 ½ cups plus 2 Tbsp sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 18 oz mixed fresh berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries — halved if large), plus more for serving
• Whipped cream, for serving

Method

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease two 8-inch baking pans and line the bottoms with parchment. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

2. 2

   Beat butter and 1 ½ cups sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides as needed. Beat in vanilla.

3. 3

   Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of buttermilk, beating until just combined. Spread the batter evenly into prepared pans.

4. 4

   Sprinkle berries over the top, then sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbsp sugar.

5. 5

   Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

6. 6

   Remove cake with parchment and cut into pieces (3 or 4 on the short side, 4 or 6 on the long side). Best served the same day with whipped cream and additional berries.