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1
Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 375F.
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2
Grease a 2 1/2 quart square baking dish, or a 9 inch square cake pan, with 1 tablespoon soft butter.
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3
In a large bowl, toss together the berries with the sugar and the brandy or vanilla.
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4
Set aside at room temperature while making the rest of the cake.
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5
To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour, and ginger in a small bowl.
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6
Blend the butter into the dry ingredients, using either your fingertips or a fork, until the mixture forms crumbs.
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7
Put the topping in the freezer while you mix the cake batter.
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8
To make the cake, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, ginger, and salt in a large bowl.
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9
Add the butter and using your fingertips, work it completely into the dry ingredients.
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10
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together and stir them into the dry ingredients until combined.
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11
Spread the batter into your buttered pan.
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12
Evenly distribute the sugared berries on top of the batter.
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13
Scatter the chilled topping over the berries.
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14
Place the dish in the center of the oven.
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15
Bake until the berries bubble and the cake is firm (ignoring those places where the crumb topping has melted into the cake, since its hard to tell in those oh-so-buttery spots), 40 to 45 minutes.
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16
Cool the cake on a wire rack for 30 minutes and serve warm from the dish.
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17
Well wrapped and stored at room temperature, this cake keeps for up to 2 days.