Life’s too short for dry, crumbly cornbread. That’s why you need this recipe for succulent Hot Honey Cornbread. I know succulent is a word not usually used to describe a product that often feels like you’re gobbling handfuls of sawdust. However, this recipe has a triple threat of ingredients that add moisture and mouth feel: honey, butter, and sour cream. Beth and I worked our way through most of a loaf in an afternoon, so I speak from experience when I say it’s hard not to eat it all in one sitting.
What Kind Of Cornbread Is This?
Cornbread can go one of two ways- crumbly or cake-like. This recipe is for the latter. Sour cream and butter add moisture to the batter. As does the melted hot honey butter that’s drizzled over the finished cornbread. The results are a cake-like sweetened cornbread with small bursts of heat from red pepper flakes.
Follow these simple rules for a Hot Honey Cornbread you’re proud to serve to the VIPs in your life:
- Dry goes into wet, always. Dry ingredients weigh less than wet ingredients. Dumping wet ingredients into dry results in clumping and a heavier batter.
- Learn to fold. Folding creates an airy batter. First, use a large rubber spatula to cut down through the center of the bowl until it hits the bottom. Next, scoop from the bottom and bring back up to the top, folding the wet over the dry. Then rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat.
- Don’t over-mix. Overmixing develops gluten. Count out your strokes if you have to, and try to keep them under twenty.
- Don’t overbake. Cornbread continues to cook once it’s out of the oven. Pull the cornbread as soon as the internal temperature reaches 190°. Or insert a toothpick into the center. When you no longer see batter on it and instead see a thin veil of moisture, it is ready to go. If the sides of the cornbread pull from the pan or your toothpick comes out dry, it’s overdone.
Store HOT HONEY Cornbread
Wrap leftovers tightly with aluminum, plastic, or beeswax. Then place in an air-tight container and leave at room temperature in a dark place (like a cabinet or a bread box) for up to 3 days. You can also refrigerate leftovers (wrapped and in an air-tight container) for up to 5 days. To freeze, wrap the cornbread in a single layer as layers stick together. First, use plastic and then aluminum. Finally, place the double-wrapped cornbread in an air-tight container. It will stay fresh for up to 3 months.
What To Serve With Cornbread
Hot Honey Cornbread
This is the cornbread recipe you need to make! Hot honey, butter, and sour cream create a succulent cake-like crumb with just a touch of spicy sweetness.
- 12 Tbsp butter, divided ($1.78)
- 1 cup honey ($02.99)
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes ($0.09)
- 2 eggs ($0.36)
- 1 1/4 cup sour cream ($1.49)
- 1 cup cornmeal ($0.37)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.13)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 2 tsp baking powder ($0.12)
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Set a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 400°F. In a microwave-safe bowl, add 4 tablespoons of butter, honey, and red pepper flakes. Microwave in 30-second spurts until the butter has melted and comes to a soft simmer. Mix.
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In a separate bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder.
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In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the remaining butter. Add all but two tablespoons of the melted butter to a large bowl. Leave the remaining two tablespoons of butter in the cast iron pan. Add the sour cream to the butter in the bowl and mix. Add the eggs to the butter and sour cream and mix.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold them together until a batter forms.*
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Swirl the cast iron skillet to cover the bottom and sides with butter, and then add the batter.
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Bake the cornbread until a thermometer registers 190°F or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a touch of moisture, about 25 to 30 minutes. Top with the hot honey butter.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
* Use a large rubber spatula to fold. First, cut through the center of the bowl with the edge of the spatula. When the spatula hits the bottom of the bowl, twist it to the right to scoop the wet ingredients, and bring the spatula back up to the top of the bowl, where the wet will mix with the dry. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn. Repeat.
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 500kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 6gFat: 26gSodium: 708mgFiber: 2g
How to Make HOT HONEY CORNBREAD – Step by Step Photos
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Use a large rubber spatula to cut through the center of the dry ingredients, scoop up the wet ingredients, then bring them to the top and fold the wet over the dry. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat.
Swirl the cast iron skillet to cover the bottom and sides with the remaining two tablespoons of melted butter, and then add the batter. Use the spatula to smooth the surface of the batter.
Bake the cornbread until a thermometer registers 190°F or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a touch of moisture, about 25 to 30 minutes. If necessary, warm it in the microwave in 20-second increments.
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