Sweet potato cornbread

I don't normally like sweet cornbread. I like my corn bread in true Southern style with no sugar in the batter and cooked in an iron skillet until it forms a nice crust. It's cornbread, not cake.  This recipe for sweet potato cornbread has a texture like the most delicate cake, and is slightly sweet.  But, what would you expect when the recipe calls for one pound of sweet potatoes?   I certainly wouldn't eat this with butter beans and collard greens. But, it's nice for a change of pace.  And adding special ingredients to cornbread always shoots a little buzz into a meal.  You tell people sweet potatoes are in their cornbread, they sit up and take notice.

Be prepared, this cornbread is so tender it threatens to fall apart if you try to spread butter on it.  Actually, it doesn't need butter.  The taste of the sweet potatoes comes through and all that beta-carotene will do you a world of good.  My Aunt Scotty, the Queen Of Corn Bread, makes a version of this where you grate the potatoes, rather than boiling them.  That's interesting. I found many versions of sweet potato cornbread on the Internet, and some of them call for as much as a cup of sugar. A cup of sugar?? Good grief!  Not in my cornbread.

Sweet Potato Cornbread

I lb. (500 g) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks

1 cup (5 oz/155 g) unbleached all purpose plain flour

1 cup (5oz/155 g) fine or medium ground yellow corn meal

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

pinch of Cinnamon

pinch of allspice

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing pan

Bring a sauce pan filled three quarters with water to boil over high heat and add the potatoes. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until tender.  Remove from heat and drain. Transfer to food processor and pulse until fluffy. Scrape into a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Grease a 9 by 9 inch (23 CM) square baking pan.

In a small bowl stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda, allspice and Cinnamon.

Add the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter to the sweet potatoes and mix well. Then add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, taking care not to overmix.  The batter should be a bit lumpy.  Pour into prepared pan.

Bake until the top is golden brown and the bread pulls away from the sides of the pan, 30-35 minutes.  Cool pan on rack, then cut into squares.

Comments

[Karina]

Oh this looks yummy. I've made pumpkin cornbread but not sweet potato. It's going on my list!

Thanks!

[sher]

Karina, I've made pumpkin bread before and it tastes very good, so I'm sure it would work in cornbread too. You have a very nice site, by the way.

[anne]

I was just reading about a bread like this last night! From the kitchen of Molly Katzen... squash bread is what I think she called it. It sounded intriguing, though I'm not usually a fan of sweet things. This bread you've made is beautiful - and it looks tasty... and not too sweet. I will be trying it!

Thank you.

[sher]

I agree with you Anne, cornbread that's too sweet is strange to me. This recipe is just slightly sweet. Can't imagine why some recipes call for a cup of sugar. Shudder!

[ejm]

I am not wild about cornbread that is sweet either. But sweetening with yams rather than sugar really appeals to me. This looks really good. Hmmmm, I bet adding a few chopped green chilies would be fun.

-Elizabeth

(Found you through Kalyn's weekend herb blogging)

[sher]

Hi Elizabeth,

Yes, I think green chili's are great in cornbread. And corn kernals too. hmm--things to put in cornbread??

[ejm]

I made your cornbread the other day, using 6 Thai green chillies. The chillies were much hotter than I thought they were going to be so I think I'd use fewer the next time. And maybe add some oven-dried tomatoes too.

Thanks for the recipe, Sher. It really is good - beautifully fluffy - quite different from our usual quite grainy cornbread that we love as well.

-Elizabeth

Here's what I did to your recipe:
http://etherwork.net/blog/?p=209