Makes 8 cakes
Blueberry Corn Cakes
Pantry Essentials: Natural Sweetener, Grains, Coconut, Gluten-free Flour
When I moved down South after living in Chicago for fifteen years, my sister asked if the move would influence the way I cooked. I’m not sure I’ve been here long enough to have fully realized my Southern belle potential in the kitchen, but I definitely wanted to include a recipe inspired by my new home of Charleston, South Carolina. Part cornbread, part pancake – -these corn cakes are a riff on the South’s classic hoecakes. Hoecakes are traditionally made with just cornmeal, boiling water and salt. They’re tasty, but feel like more of a snack than a full--on breakfast cake. So I added some coconut milk for richness and lots of maple syrup and berries.
250 ml tinned full--fat coconut milk (mix it well before measuring)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
3 tablespoons water
170 g coarse--ground cornmeal
60 g brown rice flour
a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
a teaspoon sea salt
60 ml real maple syrup, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 g blueberries, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking the corn cakes
In a small bowl, combine the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar. In a separate small bowl, make a flax egg: mix the ground flaxseed and water together. Set both the coconut milk mixture and the flax egg to the side and let them sit for at least 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, rice flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, the coconut milk mixture and the flax egg to the bowl. Stir together just until combined. Don’t overstir. Add the blueberries and oil. Stir again.
Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, scoop the batter into the pan, using about 60 ml for each pancake. Watch for little bubbles to appear on top of each cake (this will take 3–5 minutes) and then flip it over. Cook until the other side turns golden brown.
Serve with maple syrup and more berries.
One Part Plant by Jessica Murnane is out now, published by Bluebird (£16.99). Image credits: Nicole Franzen.