This Strawberry Cornmeal Cake has a delicious tartness that shines against the moist, pleasantly coarse texture of cornmeal with a a crisp sugary topping.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a 9” or 10" cast iron skillet in the oven while the batter is prepared.
In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, cornmeal and salt. Set aside.
Using the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter for 2 minutes on high speed. Slowly add the sugar. Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition, remembering to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Crumble in the goat cheese and turn the mixer down to low speed.
Slowly add in the dry ingredient mixture, being careful not to over mix. Pour in the buttermilk and vanilla bean paste, mix well to combine all the ingredients.
Remove skillet from the oven and drop a tablespoon of salted butter into the hot skillet, it should sizzle and melt pretty quickly. Once the butter has melted, pour cornmeal cake batter into the hot skillet.
Using a silicone spatula, smooth over the top of the batter. Evenly place strawberries (and rhubarb if using) on top of the cake, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool for 10-15 minutes.
For the Whipped Cream
Pour the heavy whipping cream into a small bowl. Add in vanilla bean paste and rosemary sprigs. Stir to combine.
Cover, place in the refrigerator and allow to sit for at least 2 hours. Overnight is best.
Remove infused cream from the fridge. Sprinkle in confectioners sugar.
Beat cream on medium-high speed until thick, stiff peaks form, about 4-5 minutes.
Video
Notes
* If you don’t have vanilla bean paste on hand, replace with pure vanilla extract. * Fine yellow cornmeal is best for this recipe. Stone-ground will also work, the texture will just be a bit more rustic.