Up to our eyeballs in corncakes

I am a big fan of breakfast, especially the weekend brunch. It might be one of my favorite meals of the week. When we were little we’d have either pancakes or waffles every weekend. My dad would make them from scratch and my sister and I would fight over them – fresh and piping hot. My sister always wanted pancakes and I always wanted waffles. Over the years I’ve become pretty good at making pancakes and waffles myself.

Weekends are much busier now and frequently we go out for brunch instead of cooking it ourselves. In all my years of eating out, I have only been to one or two places that make a pancake or waffle that I like more than what I could make at home. Mike is like my sister, in that he prefers pancakes. I find them easier to make than a waffle, so I frequently make them instead. I usually make a straightforward, unadulterated, silver dollar-sized flapjack. I steer clear of crazy combinations containing fruits, nuts or chocolate. But every now and then, we want something different.

This lead me to try my hand at corncakes. They are really not that different from a traditional pancake, yet they use cornmeal in addition to the flour. Although the recipe was pretty familiar to me, the flavor was something new – nuttier, and somehow heartier and more wholesome. I think we might have a new addition to our brunch rotation!

This recipe is adapted from The Joy of Cooking. Mike and I are very hearty eaters and we couldn’t finish them all (that has never happened before)! You might want to adjust the recipe according to your hunger level, or invite over some friends to share.

Corncakes
Makes a ton (40+)
1 1/4 c. yellow cornmeal
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 2/3 c. milk
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter
1/8 c. maple syrup
1/8 c. honey
2 eggs

1. Measure dry ingredients into a bowl and stir together.

2. Melt butter in microwave.
3. Add eggs, honey and syrup and stir to combine.
4. Add milk to egg mixture. Stir.
5. Pour liquid over dry ingredients.
6. Mix just enough to combine all ingredients and remove any lumps.
7. Heat skillet over medium high heat.
8. You can test for heat by sprinkling water over surface. If it beads up and bounces away, the pan is hot enough.
9. Grease pan with small amount of butter, just to coat. I like to do this even with a nonstick pan – it enhances the flavor.
10. Ladle spoonful of batter onto hot pan to form a pancake.

11. When bubbles from on surface of corncake it is ready to flip over.

12. Cook until both sides are golden brown.
13. Repeat with remaining batter until all pancakes are cooked.