RECIPE: Your new favourite cornbread (gf)

with a secret ingredient

I can’t think of another dish I’ve shared with friends at home, or brought along to potlucks (mostly Thanksgivings) that’s earned as much praise, or as many requests for the recipe, as this one.

Last year I took it to a friend Vishak’s Thanksgiving, my first time joining his group. When it came time to give thanks, someone literally said, “Thank you to Milli for bringing her cornbread,” and the table laughed and cheered in agreement. It really made me smile because I’ve been tweaking this recipe for eleven years - since I first published an early version in a cookbook - and to have it land like that felt really special, especially among Americans. It’s also the dish I make every year at my friends Nicola and Justin’s thanksgiving, which is how I discovered how good it was baked in a cast iron skillet. One day I’ll buy my own pan but for now, I’m borrowing theirs ;)

Just look at that fluffy but moist crumb drenched in browned butter and jalapeño syrup!

I won’t go too deep into cornbread’s history or the many ways people make it, because I’m no authority. My own love affair started on a solo trip to New York City. I spent a day in Harlem, eating everything from fried chicken and waffles to collard greens and slabs of golden cornbread. I was told every place does theirs differently - some bake it trays, others in skillets, one place made them like muffins with the instruction to split open while they’re still hot to tuck in a slice of butter and let it melt. I’ve been hooked ever since on buttery, syrupy, corn based bakes.

A very traditional recipe from The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis

My recipe isn’t exactly traditional, but it’s the kind of cornbread you can eat all on its own. There’s a fair bit of cheese in there, but it doesn’t overpower the corn. It’s moist, with a tender crumb, and it doesn’t need gravy or greens to keep it interesting or moist. It’s slightly sweet, balanced by the kick of jalapeño, and I promise if you take it to a potluck, it’ll be the first thing to disappear. I love this recipe so much.

Before we dive into the recipe I just want to note two things. The cooking vessel and the secret ingredient. I really think the best way to cook cornbread is in a cast iron skillet/pan. Then I would say its even better to pre heat that skillet and pour your mix straight into that hot fat to get a really crispy bottom. I do know however that’s a bit daunting for some and you can still achieve a nice golden crust with a buttered cold skillet/pan so this is what I will do here. But do try the hot pan if you feel up to it. If you don’t have a cast iron pan you can do it in a tin, I have made it in my shallow Falcon 24cm tin with success before.

The secret to truly moist, tender, can’t-stop-slicing cornbread, is the same thing keeping it moist whilst it’s been sitting on the counter for a while. It’s something you don’t see here in the UK much and for a while it was sold on Ocado and then it wasn’t. It’s back! And you can also get it online, in large supermarkets and definitely from Asian supermarkets. It’s called creamed corn / cream style corn.

My favourite brand - Stokely’s

Now, if you’re in Britain, you might be thinking what on earth is creamed corn? It sounds a bit like baby food? But in the American South, it’s a pantry classic. Sweetcorn cooked down in its own starchy juices until it turns soft, golden, and a little bit creamy (without a drop of actual cream). It’s lush, sweet, and perfect for baking but it’s also as happy in chowders, pies and soups. Yesterday I put it in a chicken and ginger dumpling broth and it was sublime.

RECIPE

This couldn’t be easier, and the only chopping you’ll need to do is for the jalapeños. You could use bacon fat for a more traditional flavour, but I’ve kept this version vegetarian and gluten-free-friendly and honestly it doesn’t need it. You’ll notice I use unsalted butter in the cornbread itself and salted for the drench, but you can adjust how you please.

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs

• 100g unsalted butter, melted (plus more for greasing the pan)

• 60ml milk (I use oat)

• 200g of creamed corn from a tin

• 100g mature cheddar, grated

• 120g quick cook polenta

• 1/4 tp fine salt

• 1 tbsp caster sugar

• 125g gluten free flour

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 5 jalapeños, 2 finely diced and 3 sliced in rounds

• TOPPING 60g salted butter, 2 tbsp jalapeño jam or honey (The best candied jalapeños/cowboy candy recipe I’ve made and takes this cornbread to another level and it’s so simple, is Claire Dinut’s in The Condiment Book, but if you want to buy one I love the brand Single Variety Co) Or just use honey if you’re in a pinch.

We love a one bowl recipe!

Method

Preheat oven to 180c fan/ 200c convection oven

You will need either a cast iron skillet or a tin measuring 24cm diameter.

1. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs well and then whisk in the melted butter, the milk and the creamed corn.

2. Add the cheese, polenta, sugar and salt and let sit for 5 minutes.

3. Now add the diced jalapeños, the flour and baking powder and mix well.

4. Grease your pan liberally with butter and then tip in the cornbread mix and level the top. Sprinkle with the sliced rounds of jalapeño and bake for 20-25 minutes. (If you are preheating the pan, then check after 20 minutes)

5. Once the cornbread is cooked you can make your topping by melted your butter and slightly browning it so it takes on that unreal flavour, stirring in your jam/honey and then spooning/pouring it all over the top. Rest for 5 minutes and serve!

G and I ate half a pan yesterday on its own, could not leave it alone!

I really hope you love this recipe as much as my friends and I do. Let me know if you make it.

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