Wild Apple Cornbread
Wild and tart apples folded into cornmeal and baked into this Wild Apple Cornbread make this perfect for any holiday table.
Servings 16 servings
Calories 132kcal
Ingredients
- 320 grams / 2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 500 milliliters / 2 cups buttermilk
- 50 grams / ¼ cup superfine/caster sugar
- 28 grams / 2 tablespoons butter melted
- ½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- 5 grams / 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 15 grams / 1 tablespoon cold water
- 110 grams / 2 large eggs room temperature and beaten
- 2 medium wild apples peeled & grated (150 grams / 1 cup grated apple flesh)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F and line a baking tin with greaseproof paper.
- Place the cornmeal, buttermilk, sugar and melted butter into a large heatproof bowl and stir until combined and smooth.
- Place over a double boiler on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring to ensure it remains smooth as it cooks.
- Remove from the heat and scrap down the sides of the bowl to ensure the cornmeal mixture doesn’t stick.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, stir the baking soda and cold water together until the baking soda has dissolved.
- Peel the apples and grate onto a plate or into a bowl, discarding the cores.
- Place baking soda water mixture, eggs and apples into the cooled cornmeal mixture and stir together until smooth.
- Pour into the prepared baking tin and smooth out on top.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until lightly golden and a skewer comes clean.
- Allow to cool to warm and slice into even squares.
- Serve with a little honey (wild honey, if possible) and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- It's best to use storebought buttermilk here: Homemade buttermilk is usually more curdled thanks to the acidity from vinegar or lemon juice as opposed to smooth and tangy, and is not recommended as a substitute in baked goods.
- Best alternatives to wild apples: Wild apples are different from apples you’ll find in a grocery store because they’re often small and less sweet in taste so the best apples you should use here, if wild apples aren’t readily available are Granny Smith or other tart apples.
- Ground cornmeal: Also known as polenta, this helps create a really nice chewy texture in our cornbread. You can replace with semolina, which will create a similar texture.
- Weight of buttermilk in grams: The weight of the buttermilk needed for this recipe is 512 grams.
- Baking tin: A 18x18 cm or 7x7 inch square baking tin works well here, though a rectangle tin would also work well.
- Best served: This is best served the day it’s made.
Nutrition
Calories: 132kcal