Strawberry Cornmeal Cake with Buttermilk Glaze.
{This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill!}
When life gives you buckets of strawberries, you make cake.

I mean obviously, right? Or maybe you just eat them all, one by one? I could do both, but you know I love any an all cakes…and this cornmeal cake is high on my list.
This cake is a little different from my typical chocolate loaded ones, but I promise, it’s so delicious. A moist cornmeal cake with honey and fresh strawberries, served slightly warm with a drizzle of a tangy buttermilk glaze.
It is so good…we’ve been eating all the “test cakes” for lunch. YUM


So before I dive into the details of this cake, I have a little story for you guys about the really cool people behind Bob’s Red Mill.
Everyone, it’s time to meet Bob Moore! Bob has such a cool story, and one that I can relate to personally, so I thought it would be fun to share some of his highlights with you all today.
As many of you may know, I’ve worked with Bob’s Red Mill now for a few years. I whole-heartedly love their products and their brand. Bob started the company in 1978, and to this day, even with all of their growth, Bob has kept the feel of his business more like a mom and pop shop. At eighty-eight years old Bob is still heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of his company. I find this so inspiring as a young business girl. Like Bob, I began Half Baked Harvest not only because of my passion for cooking, but to provide readers with recipes that they know will work great and be delicious.
Some fun background on Bob
- In 1978 Bob and his wife Charlee stumbled across an abandoned mill in Clackamas County, that reignited their mutual excitement for milling. They opened a one-of-a-kind business which they named Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods.
- In 1988, ten years after starting Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, the company headquarters and mill burned down in an arson fire. Even though Bob was 60 and left with almost no insurance money, the Moores did not succumb to this heavy loss. They relocated and built an 80,000 square foot plant in Milwaukie, Oregon.
- In 2003, for the company’s 25th anniversary, the Whole Grain Store and Visitor Center was opened.
- On Bob’s 78th birthday in 2007, Bob moved his company into a facility four times the current size. He described it as the best day of his life (except for his wedding day) because it ensured a secure future for all his employees.
- In 2008 Bob’s Red Mill debuted its new 320,000-square-foot world headquarters and Bob was named CEO of the Year in his category by the Portland Business Journal.
- In 2010 Bob handed over ownership of the company to his employees in a stock-ownership program.
- In 2013, Bob’s Red Mill expanded its production and distribution facilities, adding another 125,000 square feet.

Fun Facts about Bob
- His favorite product is their Scottish Oatmeal. He fell in love with Scotland on a visit many, many years ago and was fascinated by their creamy porridge. He visited several mills during his stay in Scotland and came home to create his Scottish Oatmeal, one of the only stone ground, Scottish-style oatmeals available in the United States to this day. <–I LOVE the Scottish-style oats.
- In 2016 he competed in, and won, the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championships in Cambridge, Scotland. A proud day for Bob, the win reaffirmed that his oats are truly world-class
- He has a thing for bolo ties and has quite a few interesting ones, including one that’s a tiny millstone made from the same rock from the same quarry where their millstones come from in France.
- He loves Model A’s and owns two – a closed top named Clara, and a convertible named Gertie, both from 1931 <–umm, cool!
- He detests raisins <– I do too!! haha!
- He is extremely passionate about whole grains and the food as medicine mission <–couldn’t love this more. I am huge believer that food is medicine.
- He adores beagles, but really loves all dogs.
So all in all, Bob’s a pretty cool guy, and I feel honored to be sharing his company’s amazing products with you all. I know that Bob’s favorite product is the Scottish Oatmeal, but I’ve heard through the grapevine that he also loves cornmeal. Cornmeal is one of my favorite ingredients, and the fact that Bob loves it too really inspired me to create this fun, new recipe.
This cake is that recipe!!


Typically cornmeal is used in a savory way, but I really wanted to have fun with this recipe. You guys all know I love mixing flavors and textures, so this cake is right up my ally.
The cake itself is a buttermilk based cake using Bob’s Red Mill Medium Grind Cornmeal. The cornmeal adds a really nice texture along with a slightly sweet cornbread style flavor. Pairing this cake with strawberries is all things delicious. Think of the flavors of a sweet honey cornbread, with roasted strawberries, butter, and a drizzle of tangy sweet buttermilk glaze.
It’s honestly just perfection.


I’m loving the idea of serving this cake up all summer long. How perfect would it be for an upcoming Memorial Day Picnic or Father’s Day brunch? Or if you’re like my mom and I, just bake it up right now and eat it for lunch. Yes, we did this, and yes, it was awesome.
This cake is ready to go, start to finish in just about forty-five minutes. It’s quite possibly one of the easiest cakes to make. Meaning that making it today, like right now, is really the only thing that should be left on your Tuesday afternoon to-do list.
Just sayin’




Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Strawberry Cornmeal Cake with Buttermilk Glaze
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy cake recipe, strawberry dessert
This strawberry cake is a real show stopper!
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups Bobs Red Mill all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Bobs Red Mill Stone Ground Cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
Buttermilk Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons buttermilk
Instructions
-
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 10-12 inch cast iron skillet or cake pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, honey, buttermilk, lemon zest and vanilla until combined about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at time, beating after each until incorporated. Add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt and beat until combined. Fold in the strawberries.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake.
5. To make the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar and buttermilk together until combined.
6. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. Slice and serve slightly warm. Enjoy!

ps. did I mention how delicious and moist this cake is? I mean, I think that slice pretty much says it all.
{This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!! }
Stunning photos and cake! This will be the next thing I bake and it will be perfect for the holiday weekend. My husband met Bob a few years ago and said he is an amazing guy. We love BRM products. Thanks for this beautiful, fun-to-read post!
I am so glad you like this cake! I love their products as well. Thank you Kmarie!
normally i don’t think of using buttermilk uncooked (in baked applications or for marinades, sure!), but this sounds perfect here. especially with all those sweet, honeyed, strawberry notes.
Thank you Heather!
THis cake looks insane!!!! I have to try this one asap, I love cornmeal cakes!!
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
I hope you love it Ruth! Thank you!
What a super tasty cake!!
I like cornmeal a lot. In the Dominican Republic, we make a similar dish, and it’s kind sweet. We called Arepa. The addition of the strawberry is a fantastic idea and the buttermilk glaze.
Ooo I will look into the recipe for the Arepa! Thank you Carlos!
Wow, this looks heavenly!! ? Totally valid lunch food. ? And I love the Scottish oats, too – they are a ganechanger!
Thank you so much Bet!
I always use Bob’s Red Mill products. I could see using this recipe all summer long with stone fruits and maybe adding a little basil or rosemary in the mix, too. I’m sure my son will be putting a scoop of vanilla ice cream on his plate!
Haha that sounds super delish! I am always for some added ice cream haha. I hope you love this Jean! Thanks!
I love the idea of a cornmeal cake–my mother made cornmeal shortbread for strawberries but I think that came about because she didn’t have enough flour one time. Can’t wait to try this.
I hope you love this Nancy! Thank you!
Love Bob’s Red Mill! This cake looks delicious and after strawberry season is over, I could totally see it with fresh peaches.
Ooo sounds so yummy! I hope you love this cake! Thanks Kathy!
Good morning.
I think i am going to tweak this a bit and make it with rhubarb instead.. as i have no strawberries but the Rhubarb plant is now taller that 5’2″ me. I assume i need a bit more sugar.. any suggestions?
Gus will be ecstatic.
Yes! More sugar! Maybe add 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup extra sugar. I think rhubarb will be amazing! Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this cake!
Agony! I’m 2 months into a (with luck) 3 month kitchen renovation project, using a 1 burner propane camp stove, hotplate and microwave as my kitchen so can’t try most of the great recipes I see on Half Baked Harvest each day. I think I will try this one in a Dutch oven outdoors once it stops raining.
I hope you love this cake! And kitchen renovation?! How exciting!! Thank you Keith!
YUM totally bringing this dish up to my parents for Memorial Day. I love anything cornmeal!!
And this is so random, but have you ever done a post with your all time favorite foods along with foods you don’t like?? The raisin comment made me wonder what other foods you’re impartial to! Probably not a lot since you have a wide range of flavors here!!! (and I also hate raisins – bleh!)
I have not done that type of post, but I LOVE the idea! Thinking up a post now. Also, haha, us raisin haters!
Thanks Libby! Have a great Memorial Day!
If I needed to make this gluten -free, could I just substitute Bob’s Gluten Free Flour Mix 1 to 1 for the Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Flour?
Yes! I think Bob’s GF mix will be great!
We love your recipes!!! And great story on Bob’s Red Mill. I was so interested in how they started their business. We use their products regularly as well! And totally agree with you as Food is Medicine :)! Hope more people see the importance of Food As Medicine. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I hope you love this cake Sarah! And I am so glad you love Bob’s Red Mill as much as me!! Thank you!
Beautiful cake!! Is it OK to use Red Mill Gluten Free flour mix replacing the all-purpose flour?
Yes! I think Bob’s GF mix will be great! Thank you!
Made this tonight … waiting for it to cool (a little.) Not as pretty as yours … strawberries stayed partially submerged. Of course, I only made ONE cake! 🙂 Batter was very ‘thick’. Didn’t really pour into the pan as much as I pushed it in with a spatula. I ‘ll let you know how the texture is. Here’s a picture while it’s cooling … https://1drv.ms/i/s!Agbr5UiF5s2u_FCjUK8SSKZE4yZohttps://1drv.ms/i/s!Agbr5UiF5s2u_FCjUK8SSKZE4yZo
Awh unfortunately I can’t open the photo! I am sure it looks amazing though! I hope you enjoy the cake, thanks Dean!
Made this tonight, was an easy recipe and very good! We used three strawberries chopped up finely in the glaze and reduced some of the powdered sugar – then used some flour to thicken it up some.
Yum!! That sounds so good and I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Paul!
Sorry … I messed up the URL in the last reply. Here’s a (I hope) good one or a picture of my cake. https://1drv.ms/i/s!Agbr5UiF5s2u_FCjUK8SSKZE4yZo
That looks amazing!! Enjoy!
Can you sub gluten free flour for the AP flour?
Yes, I think that will be great! 🙂
This cake looks so good! I love strawberries this time of year. They always remind me of when I was pregnant with my daughter, I could not get enough of them!! I think I ate our local Bertie stand out of their supply!
We’re headed on a big camping trip for 4th of July and I would love to bring this along for breakfast the first morning. Could this be made ahead and stored or would it lose all of its moisture? I’m thinking of just making the cake and then making the glaze right before serving. Thanks!!
Haha can’t blame you, strawberries are so yummy!! You can make it ahead of time, just leave the glaze off the cake until you are ready to serve! I hope you enjoy!!
This looks so good! I feel like I know exactly what that texture will be like. 😀
Thank you Libby!
This cake looks so yummy! I miss the days when life gave me buckets of strawberries… such a wonderful thing!
Thank you Katherine!
This post was perfect timing as I was looking for a cornmeal-strawberry muffin recipe yesterday! I made the recipe as written except I replaced the AP flour with White Lily flour, skipped the glaze and added streusel (as it is better for freezing), and added a little almond extract. The cake base produced muffins with beautiful, tall domes. I’m looking forward to trying it as a cake with the buttermilk glaze, but in the meantime, thank you for the great muffin recipe!
I am so glad you enjoyed this Emily! Thank you so much!
I love cornmeal cake and I hadn’t ever heard Bob’s story before! So cool!!! I haven’t ever made this with the strawberries IN the cake but have made it with them on top as a nod to strawberry short cake. This looks so delicious! Love buttermilk glazes. YUM!
So glad you are liking this recipe Maria! Thank you so much!
What a wonderful recipe, I’m going to make this weekend, here we have beautiful strawberries now, I hope to find the right flour. Loved it
I hope you love it!! Thank you!
Personally, I think this is one of your best posts! I guess c I just love the story behind Bob’s. I live in Oregon so we see it everywhere and use it all the time. How cool they grew into such a fantastic successful company! Thanks Tieghan.
Awh thank you so much Tiffany, so nice of you!
Thats so awesome you use their product so much, it is amazing!
How timely! I am heading to our local Grass Valley co-op tomorrow and one of the items on my to-buy list is Bob’s Red Mill Cornmeal (I’m almost out). Love all the ingredients in this recipe, and I have access to tons of strawberries right now. Family is coming for Memorial Day dinner cookout … I see this cake in their future!
Bet this would work with other berries, too. Thanks bunches!
How perfect! Hope you were able to get some and make some delicious food!
Hope the cookout was a success!! Thank you Nickie!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this cake!!!!! Made it tonight. Amazing recipe!!! Thanks!!! I converted it to Gluten Free (use GF flour and add 1 tsp guar gum). Discovered I didn’t have enough strawberries after I made the batter so I used one cup of strawberries and one cup of bananas, and it was GREAT!!! I almost used peaches instead, too – I think it would be great with that, too!! Thanks again. Fantastic recipe
So happy you liked it Brad, thank you for making it! Converting it to gluten free is awesome! Bananas sound amazing as well!(:
I always use Bob’s Red Mill medium grind cornmeal to make cornbread, and it never disappoints. LOVING this concept of a sweet version. Can’t wait to try it!! ?
-MAK
It never disappoints! Hope you love my version!!
Thanks for the great recipe! The cake tastes wonderful! 🙂
So happy you like it, thank you!
A moist cornmeal cake with honey and fresh strawberries, served slightly warm with a drizzle of a tangy buttermilk glaze. Really?
I hope this means you like it! But yes really!
Just gorgeous, I love all the strawberries and that pretty buttermilk glaze!
Thank you Laura!!
Wow, this cake looks delicious, the way you add milk into the cake is unique. It makes the cake looks more attractive.
Thank you, I am glad you like it!
Hello there!
I made this cake yesterday and it came out delicious! Once I took the cake out of the oven, I soaked it with glaze(added some lemon juice to intensify the flavor) and let it stand overnight so that it could really take all the goodness in. The consistency was almost that of a cheesecake, very smooth, and I’m wondering if that was supposed to be a thing? haha
Anyhow, thank you for what you do. I’ve tried many of your recipes and they all come out amazing!
Question – why do you use cup measurements and not grams?
I am so thrilled you loved the cake. thank you!! I live in the US and we use cups to measure.
I’m excited to find this site. I need to to thank you
for ones time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely
enjoyed every bit of it and i also have you bookmarked to check out
new things in your blog.
Thank you so much, so happy you like the site!
I have a flat of strawberries and all my jam making is done. It’s Sunday Supper Day. This week, that means Rotisserie Chicken on our BBQ. My oven is awaiting repair and I cannot use it (it’s gas). I am going to try making this cake using the the BBQ as my oven. Wish me luck!
Ah that sounds amazing!! The oven not working is tough!! I hope it works out!!
Hi – we just went blueberry picking today. Do you think I could use blueberries instead of strawberries?
Yes! I think blueberries will be delicious! Love that idea. Hope you love the cake!
Currently have a bowl of strawberries in the fridge from my neighbors garden waiting to be used, and I’m pretty sure you just convinced me to bake this cake today. So excited, I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Ah so exciting hope it was delish!! Thanks Pika!
Amazing! I need to make it
You should! I hope you love this Amy!
Wow this blog is very good full of tips I liked it a lot
Thank you!
So happy you like it, thank you!
Thank you!
Awesome! Cut back on the sugar and honey and added some blackberries. Really nice homey spring dessert.
I am so glad you liked this! Thank you Cindy!!
This cake was amazing! Rustic, yes but the flavors were fantastic. I will make again and again.
I am so glad you loved it! Thank you Cindy!
Looks awesome!! How do you think this would transport? I’m thinking of making this for the 4th of July and driving it up to my parents’ cottage which is a couple hours away. Maybe it would be possible if I wait until we get there to do the glaze?
HI! This holds up great, just glaze before you serve it at your parents cottage. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Wow, this cake looks delicious, the way you add milk into the cake is unique. It makes the cake looks more attractive.
Thank you so much!
wow, the strawberry cake looks delicious and very attractive, thank you for sharing
Thank you so much!
I made this cake last night for friends! It was eastbound to whip together and everyone seemed to enjoy it with ice cream. This was a rustic tasting cake – since it’s got the cornmeal there is definitely texture in the cake which might not be for everyone but the warm, soft strawberries balanced it nicely for me ☺️ I did have to cook it longer than listed though. I was in the middle of a movie and wasn’t paying careful attention so I pulled it out at 25 minutes without trying the toothpicks. Later, when I realized it wasn’t done, still quite doughy, I popped it back in the oven at 400 for another 5-6 min and it was perfect. ?
I am so glad you enjoyed this Sally! Thank you so much for trying this! xTieghan
I made this cake for dessert tonight and my family loved it! Added blueberries since I didn’t have enough strawberries…put the berries in frozen and it turned out just fine.
Thank you so much Carma! That is so amazing to hear! xTieghan
I just made this cake and it was delicious! I skipped the buttermilk glaze and topped with vanilla ice cream instead. Soooo good! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much Amanda! I am so happy this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Never had a cornmeal cake before, but this was delicious!!! I also added a few drops of lemon juice to the glaze and loved it. I always love reading your posts and have fun baking/cooking them. Thank you Tieghan! 🙂
Thank you Kristin! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This cake was SO good! I mean honey, cornmeal, strawberries and buttermilk? Can’t go wrong with that combination. Going to make it today for a second time.
Right?! I am so glad you loved this one!! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! This looks amazing and I’m about to make it, but was wondering if I can substitute lemon juice for the zest, and if so how much juice should I use? Thanks in advance!
Hi Ashely,
Sure! I would use 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I substituted fresh cranberries (leftover from Thanksgiving groceries) and added a little extra sugar. It’s amazing! Thank you!
Thank you so much Kate! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I made this last night with the intention of bringing it into the office today to share, but unfortunately there isn’t enough remaining to warrant bringing it in, haha. It is so delicious! Very rustic tasting; I’ve never had anything like it. I had to cook it much longer than the recipe says – it was probably in the oven for 40 minutes, if not more, and it still is a little bit undercooked in the middle. Next time I might try baking it in a muffin tin, as I really like the crispy edge! I only had nonfat buttermilk on hand, and that seemed to work fine, but I would probably use a buttermilk with some fat next time, as I imagine it would be even better. Thanks for the awesome recipe, I look forward to putting this on regular rotation.
Hey Anna,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great weekend:) xxTieghan