Cornmeal Olive Oil cake with jam swirl
This is a snacking cake for the summer. Use whatever stone fruit or berries for the jam that you have on hand or that looked great at the grocery store or farmer’s market. You could also use whatever store-bought jam you have, but I would advise to not use jelly, as jelly is much firmer than jam and not what we are looking for in this recipe. I’ve found that plums have a pretty high level of natural pectin, so I didn’t bother using any additional thickener. Make sure to let the jam cool completely before adding it to the cake batter. An important thing about making jam I’ve learned is to make sure to taste the fruit before cooking it down to gauge how much sugar you’ll need. So this recipe says “1/4 cup granulated sugar” for the jam but this is more of a suggestion; you might need more or less depending. If you like spicy food, use 2 serranos; if not, stick with the one, or leave it out entirely. I left the pepper seeds in this time but of course remove them if you want for a less spicy jam. I find that the heat from the peppers combined with the fruit really pairs nicely with the cornmeal.
My favorite thing about snacking cakes is there’s usually no buttercream or other frosting involved, which means faster prep/active/bake/let’s eat time. If you can’t bear to see or eat an undecorated cake a dusting of confectioner’s sugar is fine though ultimately unnecessary, but I suppose that is best left up for debate. For my cake I modified this Berry-Swirl Olive Oil Cake recipe from FeedFeed, namely swapping out the brown sugar for honey, changing the cake pan size, and adding cornmeal. The additional moisture from the honey required a larger measurement of dry ingredients, which I made up for with the cornmeal. Your oven is probably different from mine so I advise in the recipe to begin checking for the cake’s doneness around the 40 minute mark. I also make note that the 9-inch cake pan should have at least 2-inch sides to avoid any batter spillage while baking. This is the cake pan I have, love, and used for this recipe.
Think of this cornmeal olive oil cake as a sweeter cornbread. I really appreciate and love maiz flavor, and am currently obsessed with making cakes that have a slightly savory but still sweet, corn-y note. The total amount of jam will use for this recipe is 160 grams, or about ½ cup, which means you will have leftover jam to do with whatever you please. If roughly half a cup of jam seems like not enough to you feel free to add up to ¾ cup. Keep in mind, however, the extra moisture in the batter will mean a longer bake time (by about 7-10 minutes), AND note the extra weight could cause sinkage in the center of the cake. I would use the best-tasting olive oil you can find since there’s a whole cup of it in this recipe. You will be able to detect the olive oil in the finished product, so keep that in mind.
If you plan on preserving the jam, make sure to follow the proper canning technique. If not, the jam will keep in an air-tight container in your refrigerator for about five days. Store the cake covered in your fridge for up to three days, if cakes last that long in your home.
Cornmeal Olive Oil Cake with Jam Swirl
Prep time: 5 minutes
Active time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 40-45 minutes
Yield: one 9-inch round cake
For the jam:
3 small black plums, pitted and roughly chopped
1 medium nectarine, pitted and roughly chopped
1-2 serrano peppers, stemmed and finely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
zest and juice from 1 lemon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
or 160 grams (about ½ cup) total of any jam you like or have on hand
For the cake:
190 grams (1 cup) olive oil
180 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
175 grams (¾ cup) buttermilk, room temperature
46 grams (about ¼ cup) honey
½ tablespoon vanilla paste
2 large eggs, room temperature
240 grams (about 2 cups) all-purpose flour
57 grams (½ cup) cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
To make the jam:
In a medium-size saucepan set over medium heat, add the chopped fruit, pepper(s), and granulated sugar. Let fruits and pepper(s) cook, stirring occasionally until the fruit starts to release its juices, about 5-7 minutes. Add the lemon zest and juice to the saucepan and stir. Let jam continue to cook and thicken, about 10 minutes more. Using the back of a wooden spoon, smash any larger pieces of fruit; a potato masher also works here. Season jam with salt and stir; remove from heat and set aside while you make the cake.
To make the cake:
Spray a 9-inch cake pan with at least 2-inch sides with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large mixing bowl, add the olive oil, granulated sugar, buttermilk, honey, and vanilla paste. Whisk mixture until sugar has dissolved.
Add in the eggs and whisk until everything is emulsified. At this point the batter should be pale yellow and slightly thicker than before.
Set a fine mesh sieve over the mixing bowl and sift the all-purpose flour into the batter. Do the same with the cornmeal; now you’re done with the sifting. Remove the fine mesh sieve from the bowl, sprinkle in the salt, and add the baking soda and baking powder to the batter. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients just until the flour and cornmeal has been incorporated.
Switch to a metal whisk now and continue mixing and whisking the batter until the majority of any lumps are gone, just an additional minute or so. The cake batter should be thick — thick enough that you have to use a rubber spatula to help the batter spread to the sides of the cake pan, but not too thick that it won’t slowly pour into the pan.
Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the cooled jam on the batter; using either a toothpick or a butter knife swirl the jam into the batter. Add the remaining cake batter, another 3 tablespoons of jam, and repeat.
Bake the cake for 45 minutes, but begin checking for doneness around the 40 minute mark. If a cake tester, toothpick, or butter knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean, it’s done (the cake is quite moist thanks to all that olive oil plus the jam, so a few crumbs and moistness on the cake tester is fine).
Let cake cool in the pan for a good 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack where it can hang out until you’re ready to serve and eat.