NSTextFieldCell draws white background only when not the first responder - nstextfield

Question

I have two NSTextFields in a storyboard, both remain untouched from the default configuration, except I have changed their classes to a subclass. I've also subclassed the inner NSTextFieldCell. I've customized each as desired - pretty simple subclasses. The text field that is the first responder appears as expected, but the other text field does not. It is drawing a white background for its cell. Toggling between the two fields toggles the background. How can I remove this white background from the cell?
LoginTextField:
- (void)baseInit {
self.drawsBackground = NO;
self.wantsLayer = YES;
self.backgroundColor = [[NSColor whiteColor] colorWithAlphaComponent:0.75];
self.textColor = [NSColor blackColor];
CALayer *layer = [[CALayer alloc] init];
layer.backgroundColor = self.backgroundColor.CGColor;
layer.borderWidth = 0;
layer.cornerRadius = 6;
self.layer = layer;
}
LoginTextFieldCell:
- (void)baseInit {
self.drawsBackground = NO;
self.focusRingType = NSFocusRingTypeNone;
}
If I override this function, the white background disappears, but so does the placeholder and text labels when not the first responder.
- (void)drawInteriorWithFrame:(NSRect)cellFrame inView:(NSView *)controlView {
return [super drawInteriorWithFrame:cellFrame inView:controlView];
}
I'm developing the app in Xcode 7, running on OS X El Capitan.

Answer 1

For anyone who also saw this problem, the solution that worked for me was to set bordered to NO and configure self.layer instead of creating a new CALayer.
LoginTextField:
- (void)baseInit {
self.drawsBackground = NO;
self.wantsLayer = YES;
self.textColor = [NSColor blackColor];
self.bordered = NO;
self.layer.backgroundColor = [[NSColor whiteColor] colorWithAlphaComponent:0.75].CGColor;
self.layer.borderWidth = 0;
self.layer.cornerRadius = 6;
}