My dear friend is having our family over for dinner on Saturday night, and she’s making what I’m sure will be a delectable feast. We chatted this morning, exchanging quick messages as I tried to keep Lucy content and she multi-tasked at work. Such is life with a newborn. I wish I had more time to dedicate to long letters and lengthy lunches. But instead, I try my best with the little time Lucy does allow, and I pray that my friends will continue to be gracious.
She told me she’s making a cornmeal cake for our dessert, and the mere thought of what was to come got me hankering to bake. I browsed online for inspiration and happily took out my pans and bowls a few hours later. While Lucy slept (she took a 2 1/2 hour nap today) I made this cake. The cake itself is moist and sweet. With a 1/2 cup of cornmeal, the batter has a rich golden hue and tastes faintly of your grandmother’s cornbread. The frosting is simple and came together in minutes. Butter, powdered sugar, dried apricots,honey, and my secret ingredient: sour cream. Sour cream gives the frosting a lovely consistency while also cutting back on some of the sweetness.
But what I like about this cake the most was how elegant it looked upon completion. With Lucy, I’m in need of cakes that present beautifully without a lot of time or fuss. All this cake required was a good serrated knife and a few hefty globs of frosting. I put her in one of my vintage cake stands and called it a day.
Cornmeal Cake with Honey Apricot Frosting
1/2 cup stone ground corn meal
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 6-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Divide batter between two prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until cake is a rich golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool ten minutes before removing from pan. Allow the cakes to COMPLETELY cool on a wire rack before cutting or frosting.
To make frosting, cream together butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in sour cream and honey. Cream until well combined. Fold in dried apricots.
To assemble cake: cut each cooled cake in half. Place one half on serving plate. Cover with a generous coat of frosting. Repeat with two more layers and cover the final layer with a hefty dose of frosting on top. (You will have on extra layer…you can snack on it now or later). Enjoy!
Wow — a cornmeal cake! I’ve never tried one before, but this looks fantastic. The layers and that beautiful frosting make it quite impressive. And I can just imagine the sweet tang provided by the frosting. I cannot wait to try this! Thanks for the inspiration (and how wonderful that you were able to sneak in some baking while Lucy napped!)
Simple delicious cakes that dont’ require hours making sure the frosting is even are always a win. Plus the texture of cornmeal cakes gives me chills in such a happy way.
Can you please give me a lesson in cake baking/decorating? I need to get over my fear… silly, I know.
This sounds SO very tasty 🙂
Cornmeal in cake?? Genius! I have to try this. In fact, I’m going to a potluck tonight and if I have time this afternoon I think I’ll make this. Sour cream in frosting is always a win!
Have a great time at your dinner! Balancing time with friends and family must be tough, but you are doing it admirably 🙂
Ohhhh these photooooooos! I want cornmeal cake for breakfast!! This would be the perfect dessert for a get together! Or for a birthday…my gosh, it’s glooorious! 🙂
Easy cakes like this are why I love baking.
Your cakes always look stunning! And this one is no exception. I love the combo of flavors and also how easy to make it is! It looks way better than most more complicated cakes 😉
Oh Monet this cake is gorgeous! I made one cake this year with cornmeal and now I’m hooked. I’m going to have to give this a try! I also love that honey frosting – I could lick that with a spoon : )
We don’t often do a cornmeal cake, and should because they have such great flavor. This looks spectacular! Good stuff – thanks.
This looks super-elegant, and I love the apricots peeking through the frosting.
That frosting sounds so good–I imagine I’d have a problem not just eating it by the spoonful, even though I am not normally a frosting person. And I don’t think I’ve ever had cornmeal in a cake before. Sounds amazing!
Here’s what I’ve found with friends once you have kids.
The old friends without kids are incredibly understanding. Able to pick up where you left of, even if time has past.
Both old and new friends with kids are incredibly understanding. Ready to find times to get together that are convenient, and understanding when you cancel last minute because that’s how things work.
Really, the only difficulty is making new friends without kids. Because they don’t know the YOU you, only the mom you.
How sweet of your friend to have you over! Is Lucy invited? 😉 I love everything about this cake. Cornmeal is one of my favorite ingredients…and because I’m not a fan of overly sweet desserts, the fact that the cake isn’t completely frosted and has sour cream in the frosting makes me happy 🙂 I totally want to give this a try. Have fun at dinner!
Gorgeous! It’s truly a work of art. I just love the idea of a cornmeal cake paired with apricots and tangy sour cream. Congratulations on the birth of your daughter! The newborn stage can be so life-consuming, but it goes by so quickly!
I’m so glad Lucy is taking long naps to give you some much needed “you time”. I’m in awe of how you’re still able to cook, bake, and blog while taking care of a newborn, Monet. Just thinking about everything you do makes me tired! This cake is beautiful – I love how rustic it looks, especially on your lovely vintage cake stand. Cornbread is one of my favourite things to eat in the world so I can only imagine how delicious it is in cake form with that creamy frosting.
This is such a beautiful cake, Monet! Your friends are so lucky to have you in their lives, keeping in touch during what I’m sure is a stressful but joyful time of change for you. I’ve had a lot of friends just fall off the map after having babies but it seems like you really make the effort and that’s wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
What a fantastic pairing! I love the thought of cornmeal cake with those dried apricots in the frosting. I wish I could reach in with my finger for a taste 🙂
what a perfect cake!
I’ve never had a cornmeal cake before. This one looks absolutely fantastic! So beautiful and tasty, too. 🙂
Oh… that cake looks so moist and delicious!
How do you make your cakes look so GOOD?? This looks fantastic!
You make healthy look so luscious and tempting!
This cake and your photos of it are gorgeous! I absolutely love anything to do with cornbread and pairing it with a honey apricot frosting was such a great idea. Glad you’re still able to find time to bake!
What a lovely cake; it reminds me a bit of making a rustic pie. Nothing fancy but still gorgeous and amazing!
I love corn meal cakes! This one looks absolutely delicious!
It’s beautiful! and so is little Lucy for allowing you the time to create it 🙂
The colour is so perfect for the upcoming season! I love the texture that cornmeal gives a cake… somehow it seems more wholesome than the soft refined white wheat flour. I love the idea of using sour cream, and I wonder if greek yogurt would even work as a substitute? I find the two to be so similar in tangingess.
Hi Monet,
Your cornmeal cakes looks so elegant! Simple and absolutely beautiful!
Getting together with friends sounds like fun, enjoy your dinner and hope you have a great time!
I had a cornmeal cake at a restaurant one time but your cake looks much better. 🙂
This cake looks beautiful! I love minimal frosting cakes as it stops the flavour off the cake being drowned out by bucket loads of sugar. I am sure your friends appreciate your shift in priorates since welcoming that gorgeous little girl of yours into the world, and good friends will support you no matter what!
Cakes with corn meal are delightful in my opinion and yours sound insanely good. I also love that you used sour cream. Beautiful!
What a large and delicious cake! I love the pics and wow that frosting sounds unbelievable.
Monet, this cake looks absolutely amazing! The thought of the corn, honey, and apricots paired together sounds wonderful. I seriously want a slice right now!
You always make the most beautiful cakes, Im in desparate need for a piece of this yummy cake. In love with that frosting, yum!
This cake looks beautiful. I have never used cornmeal in a cake, sounds so yummy!
I adore cornmeal in a dessert – kind of that Ying and Yang thing. Your cake is simply beautiful!!!!
Monet, a showstopper of a cake. Actually, I do not bake many cakes with cornmeal but they always have such a lovely crunch and wonderful warm color that I really like in my cakes. And the frosting looks fresh and delicouis and is such a wonderful color and texture contrast to this cake!
Hope you will have a lovely evening at your friends house with lots of delicious food!
This looks divine and I love your enthusiasm to bake while being a new mom. Lucy’s napping sure helps!! xo
This cake is simply stunning!