This recipe for moist and sweet skillet cornbread is always a winner. A sprinkling of sugar on top makes a sparkly crust. Recipe for honey butter included.
A few years ago my brother had us over for dinner. He served chili and cornbread. This is a family favorite so I was not the least surprised. Well, until I ate the cornbread that is. This sweet skillet cornbread was unlike any I had ever had.
We grew up with standard northern cornbread if my mom was cooking or Jiffy corn muffin mix if Dad was. This was different – sweet and flavorful and amazing! I was in love and Merlin graciously gave me the recipe, something he had acquired from a friend at school.
I make sweet skillet cornbread with a richer base and a light, crunchy sugar crust that is sparkly and beautiful when you serve it. The crust is the first hint that this is something different and special. It tickels me no end to bring this out whenever I serve cornbread with something. It is easy to make so I serve it to company a lot – then I wait for them to take the first bite. It never fails, somebody is always SO surprises. This is one of the great cornbread recipes – no question.
Of course, cornbread demands honey butter so I have included instructions for that as well. Enjoy making this with a great batch of Beef and Bean Chili!
Sweet Corn Bread and Honey Butter
Ingredients
- Butter to grease the pan
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- ¾ cup sugar + 1 Tablespoon sugar for top crust
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup cream
- ½ cup butter melted
For Honey Butter
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Generously butter a medium-sized cast iron skillet. (At least 10" across.)
- Combine flour, corn meal, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
- Add wet ingredients on top, stir just until combined.
- Add batter to buttered cast iron skillet. Scatter 1 Tablespoon of sugar on the top of the batter to form sparkly crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from oven when the corn bread is just baked. It should have some moist crumbs on a toothpick or cake tester but not actually be wet. Edges will start to brown and pull away slightly from the sides of the pan. Overcooking will make it dry.
- To make the honey butter, stir butter and honey together until mixed.
Your Rating Matters
When you leave a comment or star rating, it means more than you might think. It helps me understand what you’re enjoying, builds trust for other readers, and supports real, tested cooking content. If you have a moment, I’d truly appreciate you sharing your experience. - Mirlandra
A Note on Nutrition
Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.
Leana says
This was absolutely delicious. My only comment is that you need a 10-inch iron skillet. I put it in an 8-inch. Spilled over!
Mirlandra says
Oh goodness! Sorry – I’m sure that was not fun 🙂 I will pop into the recipe and make sure that is updated! Thanks for stopping by. Cook on!
Joyce Supak says
I learned to like cornbread with 1/4C of sugar in with the 1C cornmeal, 1C flour, etc.
But Mirlanda, there is nothing to learn with your recipe! And that is not the best part, eating it is!!
Growing up I would slather on the butter just so I could give the cornbread some moisture to swallow it!!
It’s ingenious! Thank you for seeing a problem & fixing it!
Joyce
Mirlandra says
Joyce!!! You make me smile. This was how I felt about so many kinds of cornbread I ran into growing up! Thank you for your kind words – you made my day! I’m so glad the corn bread recipe made you so happy!
Koko says
When I tell you amazing!!!! I will use this recipe from now on!
Mirlandra says
Thanks, Koko! We absolutely love this one!
sheri says
I have not tried this yet but I was wondering what you could use if you do not have an iron skillet? Would a regular cake pan do?
Mirlandra says
Absolutely! Or a similar size casserole baking dish works also. Just keep an eye on the timing as a different dish is going to impact baking time one direction or the other. Good luck!