Cornbread

[mumstheword54.livejournal.com]

shirebound was asking for a good recipe for sweet, cake-like cornbread. This was my suggestion:

I have a wonderful cornbread recipe!

If you use it, will you please call it "Daddy's Favorite Cornbread"? It was indeed my Daddy's favorite recipe, which he and my Mama found after many months of searching when they were newlyweds. If you want RL names to credit it, let me know by e-mail. :-)

Here 'tis:

Daddy's Favorite Cornbread

3/4 C. cornmeal
1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 C. milk
1/4 C. oil

In oven at 400-425 degrees, heat a little unmeasured oil, shortening, or bacon drippings in a 9" cast-iron skillet, 9" round cake pan, or muffin tins; leave only a few minutes, or the oil will begin to burn.

Meanwhile, sift (or whisk) together dry ingredients. Beat egg and oil in milk; stir into dry ingredients with whisk or spoon.

Pour batter into hot pan; return to oven. Bake 20-25 minutes, until top is golden brown (crust may be cracked). (For muffins, check after 15 minutes and remove when golden brown.)

Serves 4-8. Delicious with beans, chili, or stew. Leftovers can be heated with butter and maple syrup (or molasses) for a hearty breakfast.

If you find that the cornbread is too moist, you can reduce the milk to 3/4 C. next time.

About preheating the oil:
Especially in a cast-iron skillet, the hot oil in the hot pan will brown the bottom crust better and even make a crispy edge on the top crust. Although it isn't necessary to heat a cake pan or muffin tins, you might want to set the pan over the oven exhaust while it preheats as you're mixing the cornbread, to thin the oil and make it easier to spread as you pour in the batter.

A helpful hint if you really love this recipe, as my family does:
You can make your own mix with the dry ingredients; store in an airtight plastic bag, preferably in the freezer (to prevent bugs and spoilage). Then mix with the egg, oil, and milk; bake as directed.


This recipe has more flour per cornmeal, as well as more baking powder than most recipes. It's also sweeter because of the additional sugar.


Here's another "Daddy" memory:
My Daddy used to make what we called "Daddy's Ice Cream" for his dessert after we'd have cornbread with supper. (It's more commonly known throughout the South and Central US as "Cornbread 'n' Sweet Milk.") He'd crumble a slice of cornbread into a tall glass and fill the glass with cold "sweet" milk (what we now call whole or homogenized milk, as compared to "sour" or buttermilk). Then he'd eat it with an iced-tea spoon. He'd share bites with us younger children, who usually didn't want a whole glassful for ourselves, and we started calling it "Daddy's Ice Cream."

With the toasted taste of some of the crumbs and the cornbread taste of the rest, this treat was really yummy, although I'm sure it sounds icky to some (like me now, with my milk allergy). I've often wondered whether it were similar to bread pudding or rice pudding, neither of which I've tried because of all the milk and cream and stuff (besides being a rather picky eater, I confess). Maybe some British LJ friends might know?


I hope you'll try this recipe and let me know what you think of it. I think Sam would approve, and I'm fairly sure the Gaffer would love "Daddy's Ice Cream."