cast iron cornbread

There's nothing more Lowcountry than starting your cornbread off in a sizzlin' hot skillet of butter—it creates a rich and crispy toffee-like crust that only cast iron can oblige. It's important to note aint one of those "dry your mouth out" crumbly cornbreads, in fact, its the polar opposite. I developed it with birthday cake amounts of butter, eggs and sugar in mind, so although it's already pure decadence, be sure to enjoy it with some butter and honey, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some lavender.

info

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 38-35 Minutes

Equipment: Two mixing bowls, whisk, spatula and a 10”-12” cast iron skillet.

ingredients

1 (4oz) Stick Butter, melted

1/4 cup canola oil

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1 ear of fresh corn, shucked (*optional)

1 cup fine yellow cornmeal (Anson Mills is the best)

1 cup ap flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 TBSP baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and add to liquid measuring cup along with canola oil. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk until smooth. *Add fresh shucked corn if desired. In a separate large bowl, whisk flour, corn flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Pour buttermilk and egg mixture into dry ingredients and whisk together. Stream in butter and canola oil mixture and whisk until smooth. 

Heat a 10-12" cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 1 TBSP butter. Pour cornbread batter into skillet and let cook for 60 seconds—this creates an amazing crust!

Place skillet in oven and bake until center is fully set, approx 28-35 minutes. Check at the 25 minute marker and pay attention from there. Allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before enjoying.

*Use a toothpick or cake tester to ensure your cornbread is fully cooked. Depending on the size of skillet and style of oven you have, this cornbread can cook as fast as 20 minutes and as slow as 40 minutes, so use your gut and cook with intuition.