Another Blueberry Crush: Blueberry-Lemon Cornmeal Cake

I really liked Abby Dodge's Lemony Blueberry Bars with Chunky Almond Crumble and their jammy fresh blueberry filling, so when I came across her Blueberry-Lemon Cornmeal Cake that has a similar crushed blueberry topping, I wanted to give it a try.

To make the cake batter, you cream room temperature butter with sugar and lemon zest until fluffy; add eggs and lemon juice; and alternately incorporate the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) and buttermilk. You transfer the batter into a buttered and parchment-lined pan and bake it for 15 minutes.
 
While the cake is in the oven, you make the topping from fresh blueberries, flour, and sugar, lightly crushing the blueberries with a fork and making sure they get coated. You pull the partially baked cake out of the oven, scatter the blueberries on top, and finish baking the cake. I think I might have crushed the berries a bit too much because I ended up with more of a blueberry sauce instead of individual berries coated in flour and sugar. As you can see in the photo below, my blueberry topping was clumped in little puddles. By contrast, if you look at the photo accompanying the recipe, the cake looks like it's topped with just fresh blueberries, all separate and intact.
My pockets of blueberry topping did sink into the cake, but I didn't mind. The cake itself was moist and lightly lemony and tangy, with a detectable grit from the cornmeal that gave it a rustic feel. The blueberry topping was fabulous. It was packed with flavor and I think it had a lot more impact than what blueberries alone would have provided. I thoroughly enjoyed this cake but if I had to pick, I would prefer to have one of Dodge's Lemony Blueberry Bars. Those bars are just more interesting and indulgent to me, with the crumble topping and big chunks of almonds. But both of these blueberry recipes are great!

Recipe: "Blueberry-Lemon Cornmeal Cake" by Abigail Dodge, from Fine Cooking.

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