I really wasn’t sure about this cake. Cornmeal in a cake is appealing to me, but neither Larry or I are that crazy about cranberries, and I really don’t like cooked raisins. But I decided to make it anyway, after I found frozen cranberries at Whole Foods.
The cake is easy to make. I used finely ground cornmeal along with a bit of unbleached all-purpose flour, so it’s not 100% whole grain. The flavor is kind of like that of cornbread crossed with a pineapple upside-down cake (which I’m also not crazy about), but the tartness of the cranberries contrasts with the sugary top so it’s not an overly sweet cake. The cornmeal cake is very much like a cornbread and isn’t sweet at all. I served the cake warm as suggested, and Larry said he would like it even better with some vanilla ice cream. We both decided we really liked it, although it took some time for it to grow on us.

• Cranberry-Cornmeal Cake (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, p. 378)