Cafe Cornbread or Corncakes

By eliorakiah

Using stoneground cornmeal will add flavor and interesting texture. By heating the oil in the skillet prior to adding batter will give cornbread a crispy crust- sort of frying the batter on the bottom

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups cornmeal, preferably stoneground
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425. Put oil in a 8" cast iron pan skillet or pan and swirl to coat bottom and sides of skillet. Stick skillet in oven to heat oil while preparing batter. in a large bowl, mix next 6 ingredients. In a small bowl, combine egg and buttermilk. Add buttermilk mixture to large bowl of dry ingredients and blend well. Add corn, if desired. Pour cornbread mixture into skillet and bake for 20-25 min.

Corncakes:
When your pressed for time, whip up the same batter recipe for cornbread, leaving out oil and adding a little milk if necessary to thin mixture. Using a lightly oil skillet over medium heat, ladle batter to form 3-inch cakes. Cook until golden brown on each side.