MIKEY BELL

So, here’s the thing.

This is a cornbread in the way that it’s not a cornbread at all because it has corn in it, but it kind of uses a lot of the same ingredients as a regular cornbread so I feel I can use it in the same way cornbread is used, all the while acknowledging still that it is, certainly not, cornbread.

But it’s a baked, cakey, bready, corn thing.

So I settled on corn cake and I think that’s where I’ll stay for now, I guess, unless someone has a better idea?

Traditional cornbread, with its rustic, Southern charm is a little gritty and crumbly, a lovely balance of sweet and savoury, and is most traditionally made in a skillet (and just saying, I have a good recipe for one here).

This cake is kind of that, except in the areas where it is not.

There’s Greek yogurt in it. There’s pickled jalapeños on it. There’s spring onions on it. It’s baked in a cake tin. It also has actual kernels of corn in AND on it, which weirdly, is not found in a traditional corn bread…

… but I like this version just as much.

Maybe more.

It’s crumb is softer, creamier, and it’s flavour profile is bolder, brasher, and makes its presence known, and sometimes you need that balance when you’re serving it with something that, in itself, is all of those things.

This recipe came to be as an accompaniment to a chorizo and black bean chili that I made one night. I wanted to serve it alongside a traditional cornbread but I have a can of sweetcorn going begging, a tiny pad of yogurt going spare, and more spring onions than I knew what to do with.

And so this cake happened.

Of course, my natural instinct for pairing will be to tell you to use it with the above mentioned chili, but any chili would do.

Other than that, I suggest:

• Soup. Soup. Soup. Dunk it in all the soups. Something creamy and wonderfully neutral, so you can really hear the cake flavours sing. The leek and potato soup or the artichoke and butterbean soup would be a good shout, or even something a little more shouty like this 5-spice squash.
• As breakfast. I’m thinking prod it into a perfectly jammy fried egg, or slather it in beans, or cut it up with a knife and fork and throw it in your mouth with a strip of bacon and sausage. The spiciness of the cake will be the perfect wake up call. I would even maybe suggest a few drops of fiery Tabasco on top, just to really make sure you’re awake.
• As part of a picky snack table. Cut it into smaller squares and serve it alongside some salsa, pickled onions, and guacamole and it’s the perfect little starter for a main course.

Now I freestyle the recipe written here using what I have, and for that reason, I have some alternative suggestions that could work, if your fridge does not contain what mine did on that night.

• The jalapeños – leave them out if you don’t like them, but you could substitute with some sliced red peppers (from a jar) or, if you really want the engine roaring, use fresh chillies. Remove the seeds if you want it less fiery.
• The yogurt – you could use buttermilk or you could use sour cream. It’s for texture more than body, so you can keep the measurements the same.
• The spring onion – throw on sliced hoops of shallot, white onion, or red onion if you don’t have, or want, these. It’ll still be great.
• The sweetcorn – use fresh if you want, or leave out altogether if it’s not something you’d like at all.
• Maybe cheese – all the cheese. Make it a cheesy cake if you want. Some cheddar, feta, or even a nice, punchy spicy cheese would be amazing stirred through the batter or sprinkled on top.
• Maybe herbs – I didn’t have any because what I had went on top of the chilli, but you could fold coriander, chives, or even parsley through the better for an earthy, herbal studding.

So like we’ve established, no this isn’t cornbread.

It’s something else that’s a bit sassier, but still worth the effort. Not that it is any effort, as you’ll see from the recipe itself.

Serves 6 – 8 slices

120g fine cornmeal

100g self-raising flour

50g white sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

125g full-fat Greek yogurt

120ml full-fat milk

60ml vegetable oil

150g sweetcorn kernels (from a can – optional)

1 egg

2 – 3 tbs pickled jalapeños

2 – 3 spring onions (sliced)

1 tbs unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and generously grease/oil an 8” round cake in
2. In a bowl, fork together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and a generous throw of sea salt and a twist of black pepper, until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, fold together the yogurt, milk, oil, and egg.
4. Add the wet mix into the dry spoonful by spoonful, stirring gently as you go, careful not to overmix or the batter will go gluey.
5. Fold 2/3 of the sweetcorn kernels into the batter.
6. Pour the batter into the greased tin and using the back of a spoon, smooth the surface.
7. Scatter the remaining 1/3 of the sweetcorn kernels, the jalapeños, and the spring onions on the surface of the batter.
8. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 40 – 45 minutes, checking around the 30 minute mark to see if the top is browning too much. If it is, just carefully cover the top with some foil and continue baking.
9. When a skewer inserted into the centre of the batter comes out completely clean, it’s finish it’s baking time.
10. Pop the butter on top of the cake and then cover with foil, allowing the butter to melt under it, while you let it cool and rest in it’s tin for about 20 minutes before slicing into wedges, and serving.