I’ve been a subscriber to Bon Appetit magazine for more than 30 years. The recent demise of Gourmet magazine has seen my good friend receive constant thrashing at the hands of fervent Gourmet magazine lovers who feel a need to take out their hurt against my beloved companion! I loved both magazines and admittedly miss Gourmet too but Bon Appetit has been a part of my cooking legacy for as long as I can remember!
Most recently I read a comment left by a reader at Michael Ruhlman’s blog that grouped Bon Appetit’s readers with Rachel Ray fans and that did lead me to wonder why such hatred? So, I looked through my latest issue with a keener eye, wondering if my long term relationship had somehow colored my perception and my conclusion was…I’m still not disappointed and I haven’t cooked like Ms. Ray since I was that girl in my 20′s!
Although I have seen Bon Appetit change over the years from a periodical that had few recipes I would attempt on a daily basis or could even find ingredients for to one that acknowledges a change in the way we live; I continue to make great dishes that have been inspired by their offerings.
One of my favorite sections of the magazine is RSVP. Readers send in a request asking for the recipe for a dish that the reader has enjoyed at a restaurant. It has become a tradition that I typically make one of the included recipes each month so starting this month I’m starting a section highlighting those efforts, my RSVP Redux.
May is typically a season for blueberries so I decided to make the Blueberry Cornmeal Cake. I planned well and bought everything ahead of time except for the blueberries since the store I was in didn’t have any in stock. So, the next day, I asked my daughter to stop and get some on the way home from work. Same result; none in stock . What was going on? I called a local grocery and they had a couple of packages available at $5/half pint; I needed three cups of blueberries! I’m assuming a spring freeze somewhere has limited the crop in Colorado, so against everything I would consider the norm, I used blueberries from a bag of frozen berries I typically have on hand to throw on top of cereal or yogurt.
We loved the cake, a wonderful marriage of cornmeal and blueberry muffins with the inspired addition of ricotta cheese. Not too sweet and a great addition for breakfast or an afternoon snack (yep, I’ve done that!). What I really loved was how it turned out after being prepared in a springform pan and am now thinking I’ll never make a breakfast cake in a square dish again; the presentation was much prettier.
And I can not tell a lie. Despite sugar in the cake and sugar on top of the cake…I added a drizzle of maple syrup at breakfast; something about cornmeal in a baked good that just makes that necessary for me. Not a lot – promise!
Adapted from Bon Appetit, May 2010
Huckleberry Balery and Cafe, Santa Monica, CA
Ingredients
- Nonstick Vegetable Oil Spray
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 6 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp honey
- 10 Tbsp butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 3 cups fresh blueberries
Preparation
- Preheat over to 325 F. Spray 10 inch springform pan with nonstick spray
- Whisk flour and next 3 ingredients in medium bowl
- Whisk oil, eggs, vanilla and honey in another bowl
- Beat butter, 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar and salt in mixer til well creamed.
- Gradually add egg mixture to bowl and beat to blend
- Gradually add flour mixture; beating just to blend
- Add ricotta and yogurt; beating just til blended.
- Pour half of the batter into the springform pan and top with half of the blueberries. Pour remaining batter on top of berries and finish top of cake by scattering remaining berries
- Sprinkle 1 Tbsp sugar over top
- Bake until top is golden brown and tester comes out clean, 65-75 minutes.
- Cool completely in pan.
Notes
I omitted sprinkling the sugar on the top so that I could dust it instead with powdered sugar; I just liked the way it looks!
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I love cruising the comments sections after recipes to check out the opinions/additions that have been posted, and I feel strongly enough about this recipe to post my own. I bake a lot (every weekend) and this cake is NEAR PERFECT. It tastes like tender, moist, buttery, sweet/salty cornmeal muffin scattered with blueberries.
Here were my changes:
- added an extra pinch of salt… which I will actually OMIT next time because it was almost too salty! Usually, cakes are way too sweet for me and I end up cutting sugar and adding salt, but this baby is probably perfect as-is. That 1 1/2 tsp seems like a lot and it is.
- Added some leftover huckleberries I’d made into a compote previously, which were delicious and provided a contrasting, tart kick
- Baked it in a bundt, not a springform, which took about 1 hr
Also this was pretty darn low-maintenance. No fussing egg whites, water baths, etc. I mixed it, baked it, and it was done. I did end up covering the edges of the bundt with tinfoil strips 45 min in since the top was browning rapidly, but that was no biggie.
An outstanding cake to have in your repertoire.
Thanks for the comments Jenny; the funny thing is how negatively it was reviewed on Bon Appetit’s site; and I think saying it was too salty was one of the problems. I didn’t find that with mine but I would imagine adding extra might have been taking it to the realm of too much; so thanks for your observation. The choice of a bundt pan…doggone it why don’t I think of things like that? Pretty is always better!
that looks very good. but … i don’t have any blueberries – do you think sweet or sour cherries would work?
Jacquie…sorry I missed replying to this earlier. I think you could substitute almost any fruit you love. Sour cherries would need some additional sugar I would imagine but sounds great too.
I saw this and wanted to give it a try, too! I’m glad to hear that it’s good. It looks wonderful!
Hi there, just wondering if there is an ingredient missing from the list. This recipe sounds amazing and perfect for gluten-intolerant folks like myself. However, the directions say to whisk the “flour and next three ingredients” while the ingredients only list two dry ingredients after the cornmeal. I appreciate the clarification! Can’t wait to make this.
Thanks for the catch, unfortunately, there is flour…no excuses doggone it, I had the quantity for flour but listed by cornmeal! So there is flour in this recipe. Can you substitute another product to keep it gluten free?
Having bought both Rachel Ray and Bon Appetit magazines in the past year, I have no idea why someone would EVER group them in the same category! Rach’s recipes are definitely a class below Bon Appetit’s…but she IS cooking for a very different audience.
This cake looks delicious and is one that I bookmarked from this Bon Appetit issue!
I just had to jump in here because I’m glad to hear you defend Bon Appetite as a valid resource and the fact that there are many resources from which (or whom) we all can learn (at least at some point in life). The passionate opinions many cooks have about certain foods, preparations or resources appears to make it hard to give a general opinion without comparing it’s value to (their opinion of) a lesser standard. It shouldn’t be necessary to do that. Have you noticed that the most heavily visited food blogs don’t make their readership feel inadequate because of their choice of resources? They may comment on their sadness at the loss of a resource, but they don’t rail against what’s currently available, they just miss what’s gone.
My thoughts too Susan; thanks for offering your opinion and you hit the nail on the head. I like people and periodicals that want to share their experience and knowledge…no one came out of the womb with a five star recipe!
Barb I love this idea! I wrote to Gourmet a few years ago asking for a recipe from a tiny restaurant in Italy and they managed to get it for me! I posted it yesterday. I think this is a great idea and now I have FINALLY started getting my replacement BA (took them a while!) I might have to join you!
A friend made this last week. It is VERY good.
This looks absolutely wonderful! The drizzle of maple? Genius, and one I hadn’t thought about.
As always, beautiful photo Barb. I have to admit I did not subscribe to Gourmet (darnit) and am a new subscriber to Bon Appetit. I’ve been a tried and true Food and Wine Magazine fan for years and do regret missing out on Gourmet. I’m loving Bon Appetit and can’t wait to find that RSVP section. When I first started my food blog, I read a Ruhlman post that quite frankly seemed snobish. Haven’t read him since.
That breakfast cake looks wonderful. Love the addition of the syrup. Great post.
In Ruhlman’s defense; the snobbish behavior was from a reader who left a comment on his blog. Michael’s expertise does set him apart from a lot of food bloggers but I’ve learned a lot from both he and his wife Donna, who is an amazing food photographer. I don’t think there is a place for snobbish behavior in this realm; teaching and making food more approachable is what I admire most from the best food writers.
Oooh, I can see the the moistness of the cake and I can imagine the texture to have some firmness too! It’s all about texture.
This looks perfect for any time of day. I really like the maple syrup drizzle! :) I am with you, I still enjoy flipping through the pages of Bon Appetit and giving their recipes a whirl. Some are good and some need tweeking, but I always enjoy getting my copy. I just did a bit of an overhaul on their March cover recipe and it was delightful and in no way a Rachel Ray dish!
I did the cover dish from this issue too and it was terrific (that’s another post coming soon!). I seldom make anything just as written; more because if I get inspired, it doesn’t mean I feel like shopping so substitutions are always a part of my meal prep from a recipe. But I’m going to try and make this section as true to the original recipe as I can; that will be a new twist for me!
Grouping into the same category as RR fans? That’s just plain weird. Sounds like a snobbery thing. I make a lot of things from Bon Appetit, but the RR recipes don’t usually interest me at all. The RSVP section is my favorite as well. It’s always exciting to see what places are going to pop up in there. This looks delicious. Good one for blueberry season when we’re back east this summer!
I agree Lori; and uncalled for. Gourmet’s demise is no reason to beat up on the other kid!
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