American Beauty: Cornmeal-Berry Sheet Cake

By LRay

Martha Stewart Living, June/July 2014, page 52.

This cake can be cut into 12 larger pieces (as shown) or 24 smaller ones (as described in step 3). You can also opt to use just one variety of berry, 18 ounces total, instead of a mixture.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 18 ounces mixed fresh berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries (cut in half if large), plus more for serving
• Whipped cream, for serving

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 170mins
Adapted from marthastewart.com

Preparation

Step 1

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment, leaving overhang on long sides. Butter parchment. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

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Step 2

Beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of buttermilk and beating until just combined. Spread batter in prepared pan.

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Step 3

Sprinkle berries over top, then sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Remove cake with parchment and cut into pieces (3 or 4 on short side, then 4 or 6 on long side). Cake is best served the same day, with whipped cream and additional berries.