Need advice to replicate best cornbread ever

Spent a week in Mexico City recently, and all the food was fabulous, but the only thing I would even try to duplicate at home is some cornbread that we had. We were at a nice restaurant eating chilaquiles (which I could have every morning for breakfast and be a happy person), and the waitress came around offering corn bread. We only took two for the four of us, because we had huge plates of chilaquiles coming. Then it turned out to be the best corn bread EVER.

It had been cooked in tiny loaf pans, so it was individual loaves, about the size of a large (not huge) muffin, but rectangular, though I assume shape is not of big importance. It had been cooked in a well-buttered pan, I think, because the bottom was slightly crisp, browned and buttery. The bread itself was full of what tasted like fresh-off-the-cob kernels. And it was so moist that one of us compared it to tres leche cake -- that impossibly moist but not at all soggy or undercooked texture. We all just sat there eating and saying, oh my god, oh my god.

So-- if I use a standard cornbread recipe, add fresh corn, butter the muffin tin -- what else should I do do replicate this? I found a recipe on allrecipes that uses masa harina and whipping cream along with frozen corn. I never make cornbread, and I don't bake much, so I don't quite know what I am looking for. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Judy H wrote: The bread itself was full of what tasted like fresh-off-the-cob kernels. And it was so moist that one of us compared it to tres leche cake -- that impossibly moist but not at all soggy or undercooked texture. We all just sat there eating and saying, oh my god, oh my god.

So-- if I use a standard cornbread recipe, add fresh corn, butter the muffin tin -- what else should I do do replicate this? I found a recipe on allrecipes that uses masa harina and whipping cream along with frozen corn. I never make cornbread, and I don't bake much, so I don't quite know what I am looking for. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I like sweet cornbread and I've always used a can of creamed corn in the batter and a bit of yogurt or buttermilk + flour & cornmeal.

I don't make cornbread often, but my mother likes it & in particular a recipe I have for corn muffins that sounds like your description of the tres leche texture. I'll dig out the recipe if you like, but the trick in it is either fresh or frozen corn kernels, with quite a bit of sour cream (rather than whipping cream) for the moist texture.

Cafe Pasquals cookbook has a really good recipe. The corn bread I had there while I was in Santa Fe is the best I have ever had. Thinking about their sandwiches still makes me hungry, over a year later. I would try that recipe.

What you describe sounds a lot like custard filled cornbread baked in a cast iron pan. You'll find many recipes online, including ones that incorporate corn. The key issues for you will be deciding upon how much corn and how much sugar you desire in the recipe. As for crispness, if you butter a preheated cast iron pan and put the batter into that hot pan, the bottom will develop a nice, crisp crust. Let us know how your experiments work out.

Athena, I would love your recipe, sour cream is an interesting idea. Theskinnyduck, I don't have that cookbook, would you mind summarizing the recipe if it isn't too long? BR, I was wondering about the pan -- cast iron probably produces a better crust than my pans which I think are aluminum, eh. Perhaps I'll rush out and buy a pan.

I'll buy the ingredients today and bake tomorrow, and let you know what happens. I'll be a hero to my family if I succeed. Gotta do it ASAP while my sons are still home.

Judy,

here's the recipe, its an adaptation of a Martha Stewart recipe,

* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
* 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
* 2 tablespoons sugar (2 tbsp is a bit sweet for my taste, but my mom prefers this; this can be reduced a bit if preferred & some chopped chives or jalapenos added)
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 large egg
* 1 1/2 cups sour cream (I use non-fat)
* 1 1/3 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen, what ever is avail)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

2. Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, whisk together egg, sour cream, and corn. Gently mix until incorporated.

3. I bake this in medium muffin papers, it makes 12 medium muffins. My mom doesn't like the crunchy outside, so that's why. This can be baked in muffin pans or whatever, just butter really well, so the mixture doesn't stick. You'll probably need to do a little experimenting to get the crunchy exterior. Takes about 20 mins for the medium muffins until a pick comes out clean.

Patricia Quintana, in her book, Antojería Mexicana, has one of the best recipes I have tried for Mexican "Torta de Elote". This is my version. The problem is that both her recipe and my adaptation are for high-altitude (~7000 ft.). This kind of delicate quick bread is very sensitive to altitude, so you will definitely have to make some adjustments, but it may help you to see the basic recipe. When grinding the corn, a lot of liquid will be produced. I drain it and then add back some of it to the batter to get right consistency for the batter.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Torta de elote con chile poblano

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
125 grams butter -- room temp
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks -- beaten
4 large egg whites
6 large ears of corn, kernels, ground (~8 cups)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons rice flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sauce
3/4 cup mexican cream
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 large poblano pepper, chopped extra fine
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375F

Grease and flour 6 baby cake pans

Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt

Beat the egg whites to soft peaks

In a food processor, make a puree of the corn, cream and milk

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat the butter for 10 minutes at medium speed

Add the sugar and beat for another 8 minutes

Incorporate the yolks and beat for another 5 minutes

Add the corn puree to the mixer

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the mixer

Gently fold in the beaten egg whites

Scoop the mixture into the greased pans using 1/2 cup measure.

Bake 35-45 minutes until golden brown

Allow to cool before removing from pan.

To make the sauce combine the creams, chile, and season with salt.

Serve with the cakes with the sauce on the side

Hi,

Flatlanders need some idea on how high altitude recipes are adjusted.

King Arthur Flour has an article on how to adjust recipes for high altitudes.

Regards,

Judy H wrote:Athena, I would love your recipe, sour cream is an interesting idea. Theskinnyduck, I don't have that cookbook, would you mind summarizing the recipe if it isn't too long? BR, I was wondering about the pan -- cast iron probably produces a better crust than my pans which I think are aluminum, eh. Perhaps I'll rush out and buy a pan.

I'll buy the ingredients today and bake tomorrow, and let you know what happens. I'll be a hero to my family if I succeed. Gotta do it ASAP while my sons are still home.

Ill get the recipe to you when I get back. Meanwhile, good luck experimenting.

Made Athena's recipe today. Very delicious! Reasonably similar to what we had in Mexico, but not quite -- the Mexican corn bread was sweeter (not always desirable, I know, but very good in this case) and the lack of a cast iron pan meant that it did not get crisp and brown quite right. Actually, it did brown, but was not crisp -- perhaps I needed to take it out of the pan instantly? The brown bottoms and sides were too soft (the corn bread in Mexico was extremely moist, with crisp edges). Also, maybe a little more salt was needed for flavor -- I might have skimped on the salt, I tend to find most things overly salty. The Mexican bread also seemed richer -- I used sour half-and-half, maybe full-fat sour cream would have done it. I decided to use fresh corn, cut from the cob -- it was terrific.

Anyhow, it was very, very yummy, and only two muffins are left from a double batch from this morning.

Thanks for the recipe, Athena! My kids are leaving and my husband and I have no business eating a whole recipe of rich corn bread -- so I will need to wait for another occasion to try the next recipe. Or maybe just plan to share half with the neighbors.

Judy H wrote:. . . the lack of a cast iron pan meant that it did not get crisp and brown quite right. Actually, it did brown, but was not crisp -- perhaps I needed to take it out of the pan instantly? The brown bottoms and sides were too soft (the corn bread in Mexico was extremely moist, with crisp edges). . .

When you don't have a cast iron pan, the next best substitute to ensure a crisp crust is to preheat whatever pan you're using and quickly pour in the batter so that it will not lose much of the heat. Even if using cast iron, you'd want to preheat the pan.

Hi, Judy, glad you enjoyed the recipe!

If you like it sweeter, its very forgiving of adding an extra tbsp (possibly more) of sugar to the recipe - I reduced the amount because I don't care for it so sweet. The extra sugar will help the edges caramelize & crisp up a bit more, but do also use a pre-heated pan as BR suggests. The need for a bit extra salt may be because you were using fresh corn, rather than frozen.

All very helpful, thanks!

I should have thought about the fresh corn / salt issue. I bet that's it, because I almost never want more salt.

I'm torn about buying a cast iron muffin pan, because a) I don't have a lot of storage room and b) not sure what else I would use it for and c) I don't bake a lot because d) most things I would bake have lots of calories that I don't need...

Felt like cornbread for breakfast. Couldn't drive to Tennessee so I made some. #homecooking #socialdistancingcooking




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