every-fruit ricotta cornmeal cake

This recipe has followed me for years, it’s been in my life longer than most of my best friends have. It’s one of my most tried and true favorites and has taken many different forms throughout my pastry journey. I first baked the original recipe when I was in high school, from the Huckleberry Cafe cookbook (one of my top 10 cookbooks), but since then I have tweaked it, here and there over the years, to become my platonic ideal, the perfect daytime, any time, all the time cake. The original recipe uses blueberries — classic and so delicious. But really you can put any fruit, every fruit, and it’s just the most spectacularly perfect vehicle for whatever ripe delicious fruit you happen to find in your care. The texture can be placed as somewhat of a rich, sweet, tender cornbread, and truly is so versatile in the sense that it can be eaten for breakfast or dessert, the latter I recommend crowning with softly whipped cream or ice cream. I could go on about how much I adore this recipe, and I can’t wait for you to make it and for us to share an affinity for this perfect cake.