Cornmeal Pound Cake
Users of The New York Times Cooking app, from which this is adapted, give this recipe rave reviews.
makes 1 (9-inch) loaf
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange, lime, or lemon (optional)
½ cup liquid fat (olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, or melted butter)
2 large eggs
½ cup plain yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream (or ½ cup whole milk mixed with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice)
Dash of vanilla or almond extract, or brandy (optional)
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg (optional)
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ cup local cornmeal
1¼ cup all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350°; grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan (or grease and line it with parchment).
In a large bowl, combine sugar, and citrus zest, if using. Work zest into sugar with your fingers to infuse citrus flavor into sugar.
Add fat, eggs, and dairy along with extract and nutmeg, if using. Whisk to combine.
Whisk in salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cornmeal until smooth, then whisk in flour.
Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until top is golden brown at edges and center springs back when lightly pressed, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cake mostly cool in pan before removing.
Annette is a writer, teacher, and author of two memoirs, I’ll Be in the Car and I’ll Have Some of Yours. She is a second-generation Italian-American with roots in Calabria and Abruzzo. As a resident of Over-the-Rhine, she’s lucky enough to walk to Findlay Market twice in a day whenever she forgets an ingredient. Visit annettejwick.com to learn more.
