Summer Cakes with Sweet Corn, Blueberries & Toasted Meringue

This fresh corn cake with sumac and cardamom, lemony blueberry jam and toasted meringue is as sweet as summer mornings at the farmers' market and evenings by the campfire.

I think fresh corn is one of summer’s greatest gifts. Here, I wanted to give it the same deference we give pumpkin during the fall or ginger over winter. I used cardamom and sumac to add floral earthy tones to it’s mellow sweetness and paired it with a lightly acidic blueberry jam. A salted meringue with a toasty finish rounds everything out.

This cake is among the more involved recipes I’ve published, so if you feel daunted by making all three components, I encourage you to space out your prep work by preparing your jam ahead of time. You can also make your cake one day in advance, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temp. This leaves just the meringue and decorating to tackle when you’re ready to serve.

Tip: When cutting kernels off the cob, lay the corn horizontally. This will cause significantly fewer kernels to tumble all over the kitchen than when doing so vertically.

Just for fun: I picked an absurdly large ear of corn (my head for scale).