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Honey Cornbread

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on December 14, 2012

Time

55 minutes, plus 20 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 8

Honey Cornbread

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk ⅔ cup honey 2 large eggs 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour 1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) cornmeal 1 teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda

Before You Begin

Even though we used 2/3 cup, we found that the type of honey didn’t affect the flavor of the cornbread much—except with very strong honey, such as buckwheat. That lent a distinctive deep, molasses-y flavor that some of our tasters didn’t like. The test kitchen’s favorite cornmeal is Anson Mills Fine Yellow Cornmeal.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8-inch square baking pan. Whisk buttermilk, honey, eggs, and melted butter in bowl until thoroughly combined and no streaks of honey remain. Whisk flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in large bowl.
  2. Whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove cornbread from pan and let cool on wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve.
Honey Cornbread

Honey Cornbread

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

55 minutes, plus 20 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk
⅔ cup honey
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) cornmeal
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk
⅔ cup honey
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) cornmeal
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk
⅔ cup honey
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) cornmeal
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda

Why This Recipe Works

We scoured cookbooks looking for cornbread with true honey flavor and balanced sweetness and came up empty-handed. Most recipes were just regular, sugar-sweetened cornbread with a small amount of honey added. Adding more honey and eliminating the sugar improved flavor but made the bread sunken and wet. Adding more flour, with its structure-giving gluten, helped dry it out and reduce sinking. Tweaking the leavening finished the fix, and adjusting the oven temperature made for a tender, golden crust.

Before You Begin

Even though we used 2/3 cup, we found that the type of honey didn’t affect the flavor of the cornbread much—except with very strong honey, such as buckwheat. That lent a distinctive deep, molasses-y flavor that some of our tasters didn’t like. The test kitchen’s favorite cornmeal is Anson Mills Fine Yellow Cornmeal.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8-inch square baking pan. Whisk buttermilk, honey, eggs, and melted butter in bowl until thoroughly combined and no streaks of honey remain. Whisk flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in large bowl.
  2. Whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove cornbread from pan and let cool on wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve.

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