Friday, April 8, 2022

Southern Corn and Pecan Spoon Bread (1847)

  • 1 cup stone-ground white cornmeal 
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 3 tbspns butter, softened
  • 1 ear fresh corn, kernels scraped off or grated
  • 1 tspn salt
  • 2 tspns baking powder
  • 1/2 tspn baking soda
  • 1/2 cup pecans, ground fine
In a large bowl, soften cornmeal in boiling water. Mix buttermilk with the egg yolks, and add to the cornmeal. Beat in the butter and the grated corn, including its corn milk.

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Mix together the salt, baking powder, and soda, and add to the corn mixture. Mix in the nuts, and finally, fold in the egg whites.

Scoop batter into a well-buttered 1 1/2 or 2-quart dish. Bake at 375 degrees until the top is well browned and a cake tester comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Serves 8. 

More "Lost" Cornmeal Breads
Yankee Farmers' Cornmeal Dumplings (1963)
Southern Cornmeal Dodgers (1987)

(Origin - "I Hear America Singing - The Cooks and Recipes of American Regional Cuisine" by Betty Fussell, published by Penguin Books, 1986. This recipe was adapted by author Betty Fussell from one in "The Carolina Housewife" published in 1847.)

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