Gina's Pimento Cheese Cakes

By margiekyle

Ingredients

• FROSTING:
• 4 strips bacon, for garnish
• 12 ounces extra-sharp white Cheddar, grated
• 1/4 cup grated extra-sharp yellow Cheddar
• 1 (7-ounce) jar pimentos, drained and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Neelys BBQ seasoning, recipe follows
• 4 chopped scallions, for garnish
• BATTER:
• 1 cup self-rising cornmeal
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons melted butter, plus 1/4 tablespoon cold butter
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon seeded and chopped jalapeno
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 7 ounces green chiles, drained and chopped
• NEELYS BBQ SEASONING:
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/3 cups paprika
• 3 3/4 tablespoons onion powder

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 135mins
Cooking time 170mins
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the frosting:

Cook the bacon, over medium heat in a small skillet, until crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain and cool, then chop and set aside. Combine the remaining ingredients, except the scallions, in a medium bowl and mix well. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

For the batter:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, eggs, buttermilk and 3 tablespoons melted butter. Mix well to combine.

Saute onions and jalapenos using 1/4 tablespoon butter, about 2 minutes. Add salt, pepper and chiles. Remove from heat, cool slightly and add to the batter.

Spray 2 (12 capacity) muffin pans with nonstick spray. Fill the pans 3/4 full with the batter. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden. Let cool and frost with pimento cheese mixture. Garnish with chopped bacon and chopped scallions.

Neelys BBQ Seasoning:

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.