I grew up making cornbread from the King Arthur Flour cookbook. It was the first thing my mom taught me to bake, probably because it was the easiest recipe in the book. While I often find myself tempted to over-complicate recipes (and… my life…), this is one I can’t. It’s still a simple affair and perfect for that slippery transition from still-wearing-a-coat spring to full-blown-tree-leafing spring.
During this time, I tend to feel both squirrelly and abundant. I’m full of anticipation and plans - writing notes in fancy pens in new planners and tracking how much water I’m drinking. I’m making dinner with crispy glasses of white wine, eating Castelvetrano olives (with pits) and fending off a constant sense that I’m doing the right thing at the wrong time (or the wrong thing at the right time… or…. nothing at no time?). Since I expect that spring is springing for you as well, let’s make a warm pan of sweet cornbread and eat it with too much butter, shall we?
ANYWAY it’s also imperative that you know how much I love corn, because this is bound to come up again. Since it’s definitely not corn season (yet), this is the next best thing.
At my last restaurant, a classic staff meal contribution from yours truly was several hotel pans of warm, tender, sweet cornbread slathered with salty whipped honey butter. Are you hungry yet? While some may have made jokes about it being more than a cake than a bread, and others lamented the amount of butter they inevitably ingested, no matter how much I put up, people were picking at crumbs by the end of the meal. Another good part? You can make it vegan! And it’s good (I wouldn’t tell you to make it unless people had mistaken it multiple times for the dairy-full version).
A quick PSA: this is not a hearty cornbread - there are no mix-ins, no stone-milled cornmeal and no toothsome bits. What this is? Delicious. Tender. Almost cake? Guaranteed to butter up friends and family alike! Good for breakfast and late night snacks. I like to bake it in a round pan, so you can cut juicy wedges. With no further ado, here you go!
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cornbread
recipe adapted from aloha kitchen, a great hawaiian cookbook you should own
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (180g)
1/2 cup cornmeal (65g)
1/2 cup sugar (100g)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (280g)
1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled (58g)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup neutral oil (like canola) (54g)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8” round cake pan (or 8” square).
Whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a medium. bowl. Whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, canola, honey and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mix and whisk until well combined.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean and it’s nice, golden brown, and springy. Alternatively, temp it! A good rule of thumb is baked goods are done at 200F.
Let cool (slightly) and slather with salted honey butter (or lazily - flaky salt, honey, and butter) Eat with spicy chili.
**Veganize it: Replace the butter with additional canola oil. Replace the eggs with flax eggs. Replace the buttermilk with oat milk and 2 tablespoons of vinegar - leave it to curdle for a bit and proceed as directed. Sometimes this takes a little less time to bake!
side notes
The New York Times is testing a new game… as someone that lives and dies by the NYT crossword, new word games always pique my interest. Try it out.
Just bought this book. Veggies baby!
If there is a recipe or technique you want to learn - let me know! Happily taking requests.
So many delicious memories around cornbread, although I can't remember what the other foods were :)
Looks amazing 🤩 can’t wait to make this!