Blueberry cornmeal butter cake from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook (page 245) by Deb Perelman

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • andrea_8axb21 on February 07, 2026

    I really like the grittiness in the topping of this cake

  • MsMonsoon on January 07, 2026

    Tasty cake. It needed about 15-20 min extra bake time. I agree with aeader that there isn't enough butter in the topping for it to come together, so the result is a sandy topping that falls off easily. Might increase the butter there, or decrease the amount of the sugar/flour/cornmeal since it does make a lot of topping. Used cake goop in an 8x8 stoneware dish and didn't do the parchment on the bottom and the sliced cake lifted out fine.

  • MollyPellecchia on July 04, 2025

    This is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made (and I bake a lot of cakes). My cake also took 15 min longer than suggested, baked in an 8x8 metal pan.

  • rhughes24 on December 30, 2021

    Summer in cake form. Great to bring along to summer barbecues. I personally liked the texture from the cornmeal, and corn and blueberries are beautiful together.

  • snoozermoose on December 06, 2021

    This is a nice blueberry coffee cake that bakes up beautifully. However, I wasn't a fan of the cornmeal. It gave the streusel a gritty, sandy texture that was hard for me to get past.

  • aliradloff on August 27, 2020

    I’ve baked this several times and it’s delicious and the cornmeal gives it a lovely texture too. I reduce the sugar by 25% because I prefer a less sweet cake and also have used frozen blueberries when fresh are out of season. I rinse well and leave them to drain and defrost a little in a colander before adding them.

  • aeader on April 12, 2020

    Only had a glass pan in the 8x8 size. Buttered and floured (w/parchment on bottom). Checked at 35 min and very raw in center. Ended up giving 20 more min (probably could have just gone with 15) to get tester clean in center. There isn't enough butter in the topping to make a streusel like what is shown in the book photo. Its basically a fine sandy sugar/flour/cornmeal/cinnamon that you spread over the top. I pressed it into the cake as directed (thinking it would otherwise mostly fall off when removing cake from pan to rack) and it made a flat sugar crust on the top, which was still very good.

  • Lesliehauser on August 25, 2019

    Made with wild blackberries from the backyard and used cashew milk yogurt instead of sour cream. Delish!

  • Kinhawaii on July 12, 2019

    We really liked this cake but it took 55 min to cook with slightly defrosted blueberries- tried to drain them a little because I had some ice clumps from freezing them on my own. Was cooked but center was depressed- maybe because I tried to create bigger topping lumps with slightly more butter & less flour? Doubled the lemon zest. Maybe a little on the sweet side but absolutely delicious! Topping stayed nice & crunchy for days, while cake stayed moist even with refrigeration.

  • Rutabaga on June 04, 2018

    My cake took about one hour to bake, much longer than noted in the recipe. I suspect, however, this may have been because I used frozen blueberries. Also, my darkly tinted Pyrex 8 x 8 baking pan is not the best for baking cakes, but it's the only dish I have in that size. Fortunately, the cake was still delicious, although a little dark around the edge. All family members enjoyed it. I would prefer it with a little less sugar, however, so will try lowering the amount next time.

  • RosieB on March 05, 2017

    Great tasting and very easy cake to make. The cumble topping elevates it from ordinary to great.

  • texannewyorker on September 14, 2016

    This is a fantastic simple snacking cake. Came together quite easily and tastes great! Not much effort but people are wowed by it.

  • robinorig on June 28, 2015

    This is one of the best coffee cakes I've made. I love the crunch of the cornmeal in the topping. This recipe would be just as good with other berries or stone fruits or even chocolate. This one's a keeper!

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