The Anatomy of a Corn Cake My goal with this corn cake recipe was to achieve two things – a tender, lighter texture on the inside and a crisp outside combined with a strong flavor. I tried a bunch of different ways when testing this recipe out, which is what I learned.
I first used milk to see how the batter performed. The pH of fresh milk is about 6.7 (very close to the neutral pH of 7.0). The cakes rose, but there was nothing remarkable about their height. I then tried kefir and buttermilk, which are acidic in nature, and as expected, the corn cake rose much more nicely, and the texture was lighter. The tanginess from these fermented dairy products was also much more noticeable and helped the flavor of the corn stand out. I preferred the kefir over buttermilk; I always keep some on hand in my refrigerator, making it an ingredient I use often for cooking. Cornmeal contains no gluten-producing proteins, so it needs some help to hold a light, airy structure. Adding wheat-based flour in the form of all-purpose or cake flour provides that help. I tried all-purpose flour in one round, and, in another round, I added cake flour. Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, and though batters from both flours rose well, the cake flour version had a well-risen but much tender texture. Overall, the flavor of the corn cakes depended on two things, the tanginess from the buttermilk/kefir and the cornmeal flavor. We’ve dealt with the tanginess but not with the flavor of the cornmeal. Use good quality cornmeal that’s fragrant. You can toast the cornmeal slightly until fragrant before making the batter to bring out some of those aromas, but to be honest, I don’t always do it and don’t think it is necessary here.
No reviews 1 cup/120 g cake flour 1 tsp fine sea salt ½ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp baking soda 1 cup/240 ml buttermilk or kefir ¼ cup/50 g packed brown sugar 2 large eggs 4 Tbsp/60 g unsalted butter or ghee, softened to room temperature For finishing off the corn cakes Unsalted butter Maple syrup or honey 2 cups fresh fruit like blueberries, strawberries, mangoes, etc. Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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