Cranberry Cornmeal Cake

by Sarah

in Breakfast, Cakes, Desserts

cranberry cornmeal cake, slice

This cake is moist and not too sweet, making it great for dessert or breakfast. Greek yogurt and soy milk give it the moist, and the cranberries bring bursts of tart through the cake. I first saw the recipe on butterlust, who adapted the recipe from Vintage Cakes .

Both recipes are very good, and I’ve changed them slightly to use fat free yogurt (plus soy milk) instead of full fat yogurt, plus sugar in the cake. The 1/4 cup sugar in the cake is optional – the second time I made it I did not use the sugar. It tastes good either way, just a little sweeter with the sugar.

Cranberry cornmeal cake, whole

Usually when I make cake, I find the ingredients list overwhelmingly unhealthy. The shortening or butter, plus all the sugar and confectioners sugar make cakes something I reserve for special occasions despite how much I enjoy making them. This cake however, had a healthy recipe and with some changes can be made into a breakfast food even.

Cranberry cornmeal cake slice close up

Over Thanksgiving week, I made this cake two times. Both times eaten quickly by my family. My mom is super healthy and usually does not eat the things I bake, but this cake was healthy enough to pass her standards, making it one of the healthiest desserts I’ve made. There was a whole wheat bundt cake in the past she approved of, but the taste sacrifice was too much on that one. This cake turned out yummy and moist, and is the perfect addition to your Christmas dinner or breakfast table!

Cranberry Cornmeal Cake

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 cup fine cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter or vegan margarine if you want to be healthier
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup fage 0% fat yogurt
  • 1/4 + 1/8 cup soymilk
  • 2 cups fresh cranberries
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar optional
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar for sprinkling

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Mix flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, brown sugar (optional), and cornmeal in a bowl.
  • Melt butter in iron skillet (I used a 12" but a 10" works the same!) and swirl to coat the bottom and sides of the skillet.
  • Pour melted butter into a bowl and whisk in honey, eggs, yogurt, and soy milk.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined. Add half the cranberries to the batter.
  • Pour the batter into the skillet and spread evenly. Distribute the remaining cranberries over the top and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
  • Place the skillet in the middle of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Make sure the edges are not burnt.

Enjoy!

Leave a Comment

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Adelaïde October 22, 2014 at 6:17 pm

Thanks for your help! I made this and it is absolutely delicious. I used my fav GF flour blend, the same amount of butter, 1/8 cup almond milk, and coconut sugar in place of the the brown sugar. I baked it in a 12 inch skillet as the recipe called for a few extra minutes, but thanks for the conversion! And that site is useful:)

Delicious and moist, great warm out of the oven, wholesome ingredients, this is a special home style recipe. Thanks!

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2 Sarah October 22, 2014 at 7:51 pm

Hi Adelaïde, I’m so glad you like it! Thanks so much for letting me know how the recipe went for you – it made my day! 🙂

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3 Adelaide October 15, 2014 at 8:55 pm

This looks delicious and healthy! I’m gluten free and I want to make a GF version. Most GF recipes can’t absorb as much butter as traditional wheat flour recipies, so do you think I could replace half or all the butter with oil? (Flax, olive or coconut). Also, I’d like to bake this up in a loaf pan. Is there enough batter/any ideas about baking time?

Thanks!

Reply

4 Sarah October 17, 2014 at 4:41 pm

Hi Adelaide!

To make the recipe gluten free, I recommend replacing the all purpose flour with gluten free flour. The cornmeal should already be gluten free (but if you’re not sure, make sure to check the ingredients just in case). I recommend sticking with butter instead of oil, for a more bread-like texture (the oil will make it more cake-like).

If you make the recipe taking half of every ingredient, there should be enough for a loaf. You don’t want to fill the loaf pan completely full, otherwise it’ll be the overflowing mushroom bread ;).

Here is how I did the math for how much makes a loaf: I used a 12 inch by 2 inch skillet in the original recipe, which comes out to a volume of 15.67 cups. A loaf pan that is 9x5x3 inches will hold 8 cups. So to turn this recipe’s proportions to that for a loaf pan I would multiply each of the values by 8/15.67. Since 15.67 is pretty close to 16, I would say half everything (8/16) in this recipe and it should fit in a bread loaf pan. Here is a helpful site with volume conversion information.

Instead of baking for a set time, I would check the bread by inserting a toothpick in the center every 20 minutes and then every 10 minutes as you bake. When the entire toothpick comes out clean, your bread is ready.

Hope that’s helpful! Let me know if you have any other questions.

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5 Katie @ Butterlust Blog December 23, 2013 at 2:37 pm

Great job, Sarah! I love your adjustments to make it healthier, and therefore more of an every day cake – which I obviously have trouble doing! Thanks for the link back as well!

Reply

6 Sarah December 23, 2013 at 3:05 pm

Hi Katie! I’m glad you like it 🙂 Thanks for the recipe! I think I’ll be making this cake regularly.

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