First, I want to apologize for the one, not-so-great picture here. I was in a rush and just took the picture quickly before taking the whole batch to the beach. Little did I know, this cornbread would be unbelievably good. Corn bread this good deserves amazing pictures, but unfortunately my point and shoot camera doesn't quite do it justice (especially under rushed conditions).
I rarely like corn bread. I think regular bread is far superior and almost always choose that out of a bread assortment at a restaurant. Corn bread is dry, too grainy and falls apart into a million pieces when you try to take a bite. (Guess that's why people always eat it over a bowl of chili.)
Well, maybe all the other cornbread is. This corn bread is so moist it's almost like a cake. It's got the slight grainy texture that comes from corn meal, but in this case it's just the right texture. I used corn meal from a mill in North Carolina so I actually ended up triple sifting it to make sure all the fresh corn pieces were out (the recipe requires double sifting). Other than the sifting, the whole recipe is a breeze. The best part about this bread is the honey butter glaze. Each bite melts in your mouth. It almost seems too good to accompany just a plain ol' meal (hence why I grabbed
Honey-Glazed Spago Corn Bread
Recipe from Sherry Yard's Desserts By The Yard
Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cake flour
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
For the glaze:
3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup water
1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with pan spray.
2. Sift together the cornmeal, all purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt 2 times. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs. Melt the butter and immediately whisk into the eggs in a slow stream. Whisk in the oil, milk, and buttermilk. Whisk in the dry ingredients just until combined.
4. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and continue to bake for 10 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Make the glaze: while the corn bread is baking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the honey and water and whisk until blended.
6. When the cornbread is done, remove from the oven and poke holes all over the bread, about 1/2-inch apart, with a toothpick. Brush with the glaze and allow to cool.