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Robin Ward

Summer Strawberry Cornbread

Experience the ultimate cornbread with freshly milled heirloom cornmeal, brown butter, spelt flour, and sweet, floral strawberries, offering a wholesome texture and a sweet, fresh, nutty corn flavor! Whether shared with loved ones or savored alone, this strawberry cornbread promises a taste of summer you won’t forget.
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Servings: 8
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup pure maple syrup
  • ½ cup avocado or mild tasting olive oil (Can also use canola oil)
  • ¾ cup buttermilk (Shake carton prior to measuring.)
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • ⅓ cup coarse grind polenta
  • 1 cup spelt flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1¼ tsp salt
  • 8 oz strawberries, hulls removed and sliced

Equipment

  • 1 9-inch cast-iron skillet or 9-inch pie pan

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 375℉. On the stovetop, in a 9-inch cast iron skillet (or saucepan if you plan to bake the cornbread in a pie dish), melt the butter over medium heat, swirling to coat the sides of the skillet. Simmer and whisk constantly to brown the butter. Since it can be hard to see the butter’s color in a cast iron skillet, rely on toffee aromas and tilt the pan to pool the butter for better visibility. Additionally, use a white utensil or spoon to check for brown flecks, as demonstrated in the video guide.
  2. Pour butter into a large bowl. Whisk the maple syrup, olive oil and buttermilk into the butter. The mixture should be room temperature to the touch; if it's not, let it cool slightly before whisking in the eggs. When the eggs are fully incorporated, whisk in the cornmeal, polenta, spelt flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Scrape the batter back into the pan you used to brown the butter (or into a buttered 9-inch pie dish if you used a saucepan) and scatter the strawberries evenly on top. Bake until the surface is golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30-45 minutes. If the edges of your cornbread start to darken too much, reduce the oven temperature to 325℉ and continue baking until the center is set.
  4. Cool in the skillet for 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

As you can see in the video, I initially tried to use a 9-inch cast iron skillet as recommended, but mine has unusually low sides. I quickly switched to a deep-dish 9-inch pie pan, which worked perfectly and is also recommended for this recipe. If you have a 9-inch cast iron skillet with high sides, use that; otherwise, a pie pan like mine will do the job just as well. I avoided using my larger cast iron skillet, as it would have made the cornbread thinner, more like a large pancake than I wanted. So, for best results, use a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan or a high-sided 9-inch cast iron skillet.
 
Recipe for Strawberry-Maple Topping:
Hull and quarter a 1/2 pint (250g) of strawberries and place them in a bowl with 1 Tbs. of pure maple syrup and a pinch of fine sea salt. Crush a few berries with a fork on the side of the bowl and stir to mix the juices with the syrup. Let the strawberries marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes, then enjoy over cornbread, toast, ice cream, toast, biscuits, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.