Orange Cornmeal Cake.

It's funny how sometimes we associate citrus with warmer weather because where I come from at least, oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes are in season in the winter. But no one can argue that their bright, sunny shapes bring some much-needed freshness to life during the cold months of winter.

I found this recipe on Orangette recently and knew it would be a welcome addition to our Sunday dinner with my sister-in-law and brother. Rachel has Celiac disease, so it needed to be gluten free, and I substituted the cake flour with my favorite gluten free flour but made no substitutions other than that and using orange zest for lemon, and serving it with vanilla bean frozen yogurt instead of whipped cream.

This is how I prefer my cornmeal - sugared and dolled up, and when people ask if I like my cornbread sweet, the answer is absolutely, positively, yes. (Sorry to my southern friends!! <3)
















Orange Cornmeal Cake with Apricot Jam and Frozen Yogurt
1 1/4 cups cake flour
6 tablespoons fine cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
Grated zest of 1 orange (or lemon)
To serve:
1/2 cup apricot jam (or your favorite)
Frozen yogurt, ice cream, or whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9'' round cake pan with baking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Cream the butter, zest and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla and eggs. Add the dry ingredients and the milk alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Spread the batter in the cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan, and when ready to serve, invert onto a plate. I sprinkled mine with powdered sugar and put the jam in the middle for presentation purposes, but you could obviously just slice the cake and serve the jam and frozen yogurt on the side, letting people take as much as they please.

My niece Keira put sprinkles on her frozen yogurt and had 2 slices of this cake. Kid-friendly is always a plus, right? :)