An easy recipe for high altitude cornbread cake that’s buttery, moist and just sweet enough, loaded with plump juicy blackberries. This cake is simple and a little rustic, but so delicious for breakfast or dessert!
You might also love these high altitude recipes for whole wheat cornmeal pancakes, cornbread muffins, and whole wheat honey loaf cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Not Too Sweet. While I bake a lot of sweet things, I actually prefer my desserts a little less sugary, which is what I love about this blackberry cornbread cake. It’s just sweet enough, so it’s a perfect cake to eat for a snack, as well as for a less indulgent dessert.
Simple and Easy. You won’t need a mixer, or any hard to find ingredients. The batter comes together easily with a bowl and whisk and you don’t have to wait long for the cake to cool before you can enjoy a piece.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Butter. The butter adds a rich buttery flavor as well as moisture. I use unsalted butter, so if your butter is salted, you should omit the extra salt in the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar. Sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Eggs. Eggs give the bread structure.
- Milk + Sour Cream. Keeps the cornbread cake moist, tender and flavorful. Be sure to use whole milk and full-fat sour cream for a rich flavor.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Cornmeal. Yellow cornmeal gives this cornbread its pretty yellow color and hearty texture. Don’t confuse cornmeal with corn flour or corn starch, which are completely different ingredients.
- Flour. All-purpose flour gives the cake strength and structure so it doesn’t crumble apart.
- Baking Powder. This is the leavening agent, which gives the cake its rise.
- Salt. Enhances the flavors.
- Blackberries. Use fresh, in season blackberries that are sweet and juicy for the best flavor in your cake.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick baking spray, or line the pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar (2/3 cup), eggs, milk, sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Separately, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk for 10-15 seconds until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the pan, then press the blackberries into the batter. Sprinkle the top of the cake batter with the 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.
- Bake on the center oven rack for about 35 minutes, just until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour, then gently turn the cake out onto a serving plate. Cut into slices and serve warm. This cake is fantastic enjoyed plain, or with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store the leftover cake?
Store leftover cornbread cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It needs to be kept cold, or the blackberries can spoil if it’s stored at room temperature.
What’s the best way to reheat the cake?
It’s best reheated on 50% power in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, for a warm, soft, just-baked texture.
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High Altitude Blackberry Cornbread Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 9 Inch Round Cake Pan
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- â…” cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 8 oz fresh blackberries
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick baking spray, or line the pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar (2/3 cup), eggs, milk, sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Separately, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk for 10-15 seconds until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the pan, then press the blackberries into the batter. Sprinkle the top of the cake batter with the 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.
- Bake on the center oven rack for about 35 minutes, just until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour, then gently turn the cake out onto a serving plate. Cut into slices and serve warm. This cake is fantastic enjoyed plain, or with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Holy crap this was good! I’m in Ecuador and haven’t figured out what whole milk is here and I don’t know if sour cream exists so I subbed plain liquid yogurt for the milk and sour cream. I’m not a confident baker, but this came out wonderfully! Thank you for the simple recipe. I’ll definitely be making this again.
I’m so glad! This has been one of my favorite bakes this summer.
Amazing recipe, so easy to follow. I baked this at 6400 feet above sea level with no issues. I substituted Italian Amarena cherries for the blackberries and it was exceptional! I am dairy free so I substituted all non-dairy products (non dairy stick “butter”, non dairy “sour cream”, and non-dairy oatmilk) with no issues. Everything turned out as pictured and tasted amazing. Thank you for another great high altitude recipe!