Gluten Free Honey Cornmeal Cake with Strawberry Compote + Honey Whipped Cream

By Rachel Conners @bakeritablog

This Gluten Free Honey Cornmeal Cake with Strawberry Compote + Honey Whipped Cream is a gorgeous dish that’s perfect for dessert or brunch!

Let me start this post off with this: this honey cornmeal cake is right up there in my top three favorite things I’ve ever posted. I’m sort of in love with it. With over 400 recipes on this site, that’s a big statement.

I’ve always had a love for all things with cornmeal – whether it be savory cornbread, sweeter blueberry cornbread, and corn muffins. I’ve dabbled with cornmeal cake before, too, with this blackberry cornmeal cake, a few years ago. And oh man, that cake. I’ve always remembered it so fondly and it’s stood out among the sea of baked goods I’ve posted over the few years of being a food blogger.

I remember taking sliver after sliver of that cake, trying not to eat the whole darn thing in one sitting. The blackberries softened up and almost melted into the cake, creating tangy pockets of flavor that paired so wonderfully with the richness from the butter and eggs and the texture of the cornmeal.

This honey cornmeal cake, that I’m sharing today, is a new interpretation of that cake, and dare I say…it’s even better than the original. Forgive me while I swoon all over this cake – it was love at first bite.

The cake, like its predecessor, features lots of butter and eggs, which help makes this cake sooo dreamily rich and buttery and so totally delicious. It’s not overwhelmingly sweet either – just a hint of honey peeking through. For honey flavor without all the sticky gooey honey mess, I used Nektar Naturals granulated honey crystals. I love these because you can sub them in wherever you would use regular granulated sugar and still get honey flavor – I sweetened the whipped cream with the honey crystals too!

In the case of this cake, the subtle honey flavor pairs perfectly with the slightly gritty cornmeal texture. Make sure you grab fine grind cornmeal at the store, but if you do have a coarser grind of cornmeal on hand, pulse about 1 cup of cornmeal through a food processor or blender to make it finer, for about 15-20 seconds, and then measure out the 3/4 cup for the recipe.

Oh, and have I mentioned this cake is gluten-free too?! I used finely ground blanched almond flour, and the texture is on point (as I’ve mentioned 80x so far in this post). A smattering of sliced almonds over the top the cake makes it look pretty and gives a little toasty, nutty crunch. With a sprinkling of powdered sugar, it’s perfection all on it’s own.

BUT – the strawberry compote. This wouldn’t have made the top three without the compote and the whipped cream. The “compote” isn’t more than sweet fresh strawberries cooked down in a little bit of water with a splash of vanilla extract. The strawberries didn’t need any extra sweetness and the fresh flavor shone right through. The simple whipped cream, sweetened with only a tiny bit of granulated honey, rounded out the plate and made it irresistible. Made it top three worthy.

I know this simple honey cornmeal cake isn’t my usual favorite ooey gooey chocolate peanut butter sort of recipe, but it holds its own. I could talk about how much I love this cake forever, but instead I’m going to stop writing and tell you to go make it right now. Enjoy! :)

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Gluten Free Honey Cornmeal Cake with Strawberry Compote + Honey Whipped Cream   Save Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 50 mins Total time 1 hour 10 mins   Author: Rachel Conners Serves: 8 slices Ingredients
  • ¾ cup blanched almond flour
  • ¾ cup fine grind cornmeal
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ¾ cup Nektar Naturals granulated honey
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 5 eggs, room temperature
  • ½ cup sliced almonds
For the strawberry compote
  • 1 cup sliced strawberries
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the honey whipped cream
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon Nektar Naturals granulated honey
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Coat an 8-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk the almond flour with the cornmeal until just combined. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the granulated honey, salt, and honey until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating fully before adding another. (The batter may start to separate for the last few eggs.)
  4. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix until just combined.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and sprinkle the almonds evenly over the top of the batter. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the cake is golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake slightly, then remove from the pan to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with strawberry compote and honey sweetened whipped cream.
For the strawberry compote
  1. Combine the strawberries and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let boil until the water has thickened and the strawberries have begun to break down, 5-8 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Serve warm with cake.
For the honey whipped cream
  1. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy whipping cream and granulated honey. Whip on high until it's thickened and creamy, 3-4 minutes.
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This post is sponsored by Nektar Naturals. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Bakerita! :)

There's more where that came from!

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  • Peach Cornmeal Upside Down Cake
  • Paleo Banana Blueberry Swirl Cake
  • Blueberry Cornbread
  • Brown Butter Sage Skillet Cornbread
  • Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten Free)