Green Olive Corn Cake w/ Blue Cheese Frosting
Backstory:
My best friend, Chris, is absolutely mad about blue cheese and green olives. For his birthday in 2022, he asked me to create him a dish focussing on these flavors. I put on my best mad scientist thinking cap and came up with this sweet and savory dessert recipe.
Ingredients, Green Olive Corn Cake:
2 cups (256g) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups (150g) cornmeal, preferably finely ground
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1.5 cups halved green olives
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method, Green Olive Corn Cake:
Make the cake layers: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with circles of parchment. Grease the parchment. (You can use soft butter or baking spray.)
Combine the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low for a moment, then add the butter and increase the speed to medium-low. Let that go until the butter is completely incorporated. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in another bowl and whisk with a fork until smooth.
With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the wet ingredients. Stop part-way through to scrape down the bowl and paddle attachment, to make sure the dry ingredients aren’t clumping. Mix until the batter is completely cohesive and smooth. Remove bowl from mixer and add in chopped green olives and stir to incorporate thoroughly.
Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cake pans (a scale really helps here). Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and a thin knife or skewer inserted in the center comes out completely clean.
When the cake layers are completely cool, frost the cake with blue cheese frosting: Set one layer on a parchment-lined cake stand, top with about 1 cup frosting, and smooth out with an offset spatula. Set the other layer on top. Add another 1 ½ cups frosting and frost the tops and sides. You can start with a thin layer (called a crumb coat), refrigerate for a bit, then add on another thicker layer (or you can do it all in one go).
Eat right away or refrigerate for later. If you’ve refrigerated the cake for awhile, let it sit out for a bit before serving—it’s better this way.
Ingredients, Blue Cheese Frosting:
4 ounces blue cheese, Roquefort preferred
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 tbsp floral honey of your choice
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
Method, Blue Cheese Frosting:
Add blue cheese to a food process and process until smooth. Transfer to a small container and refrigerate until cool. This icing tends to be a bit melty so keeping the blue cheese cool helps control that.
Set your butter and cream cheese out to soften.
Add softened butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer or regular mixing bowl if using hand mixer. Beat until well combined, fluffy, and lump free.
Add your chilled blue cheese paste and beat in to combine completely
Add vanilla and honey and beat in.
With hand or stand mixer on low gradually add all powdered sugar until completely combined.
You can add more powdered sugar or corn starch to thicken or milk/cream to thin if needed.
Chill until ready to use or immediately frost a fully cooled cake. If the icing is too melty to frost properly at room temp then go ahead and chill it down before frosting. Alternatively you can add some more powdered sugar or starch to firm it up a bit more.
Attributions:
Cake inspiration:
Frosting Inspiration: