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February 13, 2010

Custard Filled Corn Bread

doused with maple syrup

I just finished reading A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenburg.  Wow…just wow!  What a lovely food memoir. I devoured it whole and it’s haunted me in such a good way.  Every recipe has a story behind it.  A tradition. It makes me think of all of the recipes that I hold so dear.  The ones that came from the women of my family…and the ones that I hope to impart on my children some day.  Food has the power to bring people closer together and because I am half Italian I live by that.

maple syrup from my father in law

I had a good laugh at the tale of her husband and his maple syrup loving habits.  Mine looooves anything maple syrup related.  You would be surprised at how fast he can polish off a box of maple candies.  It’s the New England gene in him.  He was born to love it.  He doesn’t go as far as Buddy the Elf…but if I was gone for the weekend, I am pretty sure he’d be putting syrup on everything.

hot cornbread

This cornbread is the most perfect medium for syrup.  I think of it as a cross between cornbread, cream of wheat & polenta.  The outside was nice and crusty and the inside was a perfect melty custard…in the same vein as a good slab of french toast.  Boy did it soak up the syrup!! I made it last night and warmed it up in the oven this morning.  It would be a perfect treat for your sleepover guests in the morning. What a beautiful thing to wake up to.

Take a look at that custard layer!

custardy

Here is a slab I cut out for myself this morning.

naked corn bread

We doused it in maple syrup.  Casey wondered if it was enough because it disappeared right into the bread.

pouring it on

So here’s our breakfast this morning!  This is SO going in our rotation.

breakfast this am

Thank you Molly & Brandon. Thank you for sharing your stories with me.  Thank you for reminding me that food is the best foundation on which memories are built.

Custard Filled Corn Bread

(recipe Molly Wizenburg)

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal, medium ground
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons distilled vinegar
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Pure maple syrup, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch square pan. Put the buttered dish in the oven to warm while you make the batter.

In a large microwavable bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Cool slightly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and baking soda.

When the butter has cooled a bit, add the eggs and whisk to blend well. Then add the sugar, salt, milk and vinegar and whisk well again.  Whisking constantly, add the flour mixture. Mix until batter is smooth and no lumps are visible.

Remove the heated pan from the oven, and pour in the batter.  Then pour the cream into the center of the batter. Do not stir. Carefully slide the pan back into the oven, taking care not to knock, and baked until golden brown on top, 50 minutes to 1 hour.  Serve warm, with maple syrup.

  • wootowl

    wow, this looks cheatworthy!!! NOM!

  • kathleen

    holymoly!!!! this looks amazing.
    i have this book and haven’t read it yet (on my stack of to-reads).
    gonna grab it and make it asap! perfect snowy-weather-comfort-food.

    (found you on andrea’s flickr site from the 5-minutes ago pic)

    happy eating! kathleen (kookooface)

  • Janet

    Yu-um! My grandparents lived in Vermont when I was growing up, so I love maple syrup.

    I’m reading that right now, too! I would have devoured the whole book right away had I not had to leave for a trip!

  • maija

    yum! I have little post-it notes throughout that book, and this has been one I’ve wanted to make for a while. Everything else I’ve made from that book has been fantastic (esp the chocolate cake!!). I keep waiting to have leftover cream from making something else, but now I’ve seen that picture, I may just need to get some for this recipe.

  • Michelle

    Oh, I loved that book too. I have so many memories that revolve around food, and I love the stories I get to share with the kids about our family because of it.

    I’m glad you posted the recipe cause I borrowed the book from the library and didn’t write it down! It looks absolutely delicious!

  • Sara@SproutedKitchen

    i saw this in the back and am SO intrigued! your picture makes it look irresistable, I must try this soon.

  • Nichole

    I just made these for dinner and they were wonderful. I did not have whole milk, so I used 1% + cream. Will for sure make again and again. Don’t forget the syrup.

    • Tracy

      Good to know! i LOOOVE this recipe, but am kinda scared at how much I love it and how much fat it contains. I think as long as I don’t skimp on the cream topping it’s probably still superb!

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