Chipotle Cornbread

Ah, my first from scratch corn bread. Ain't she a cutie sittin there on the base of my spring form pan?This isn't your everyday ordinary cornbread, it's chipotle cornbread . I snagged it from the blog Baking Bites.

Normally when I want to have some cornbread I just grab one of those Jiffy Cornbread boxes. Those babies make some mighty tasty cornbread. Wanna know why? Lard. Yes. Lard is like the 4th ingredient. Lard, like bacon, can make anything taste rockin awesome.

Awesome as the lardy mix may be, I'm in this phase where I want to make things from scratch. Most of the time it's cheaper and better for you than the prepackaged version. I already had all the ingredients on hand so I don't know how this compares in price to Jiffy. I'm going to guess that it was cheaper though. At least if I made a similar version using corn and chipotles as additives to the Jiffy box mix. I mean with the box you still have to add egg and milk. Sugar and corn meal are much cheaper per ounce in bulk than per ounce by the prepared mix.

I did not use fresh corn for this recipe. It's winter and there isn't any "Fresh" corn. Frozen tasted just fine. I also used powdered buttermilk. I don't have the best luck using up the buttermilk in the carton before it goes bad. So far the powdered buttermilk has not lead me astray. For me, the powdered buttermilk is still saving me money in the long run, and I'm not wasting food by having to toss out the spoiled stuff.

The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of minced chipotle. This turned out to be about 1 largish chipotle pepper. If you like, and can handle the heat, throw caution to the wind and add 2 peppers. As is, the cornbread was about as spicy as Blockette could handle. She ate it, but there was a lot of milk drinking and comments about how spicy the cornbread was.

This was also the first time I've made cornbread in a springform pan. It weirded me out at first because I usually make it in a square pan. There was just something fun about cutting the cornbread into wedge slices that was very satisfying. Cutting the cornbread this way also made it seem like the cornbread went farther. Maybe because it was easier to cut smaller pieces?

Being a Yankee, I don't care either way, but I guess this technically isn't cornbread, it's corn cake. I don't fully understand the difference. I think it might have something to do with the amount of sugar? All I know is it seems like corn bread to me.

Chipotle Cornbread from Baking Bites
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 tbsp minced chipotle peppers
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup fresh corn

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and minced chipotle peppers. Melt the butter in the microwave.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in egg, buttermilk and milk. Whisk until almost combined, then add in the butter-chipotle mixture and stir just until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Stir in corn. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the sides of the springform pan, or turn the bread out of a regular pan onto a wire rack, and allow the cornbread to cool. Cornbread can be eaten while slightly warm or at room temperature.