Recipe: Strawberry Cornbread

I wanted to take a very quick break from the recaps of our cross country road trip to share this recipe with you today. Summer is upon us and that means trying to find light and delicious meals that feel as good as sitting in the sunshine all day. That feeling was the goal of this recipe and I’m super proud of it. Summer also makes me want to bake with corn meal for some crazy reason so I’ve been doing that a lot lately. This recipe combines the best of both worlds: the amazing crunch of corn meal and the sweet summer bite of strawberries. Enjoy!

Domestocrat’s Strawberry Cornbread (Adapted from Eating Out Loud)
1.5 lbs. strawberries, rinsed and chopped
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup almond milk (any milk will do, I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk here)
1 tsp. cinnamon (I use King Arthur’s Vietnamese cinnamon)
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. vanilla

The recipe couldn’t be easier. First, rinse and chop up the strawberries. Slice five of the biggest ones in half to garnish the top.

Next mix all of the dry ingredients together.

The add in the wet ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth.

The final step is to slowly fold in the chopped strawberries. Don’t mix these with the paddle of a stand mixer because they will begin to puree them and that’s not what we want here.

Grease a square baking dish (mine here is about 8×8) and pour in the batter. Garnish the top with the larger strawberry slices. Bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour, rotating once at the halfway point. It may take more or less time to bake depending on what type of dish you use and your oven, just keep testing the middle for doneness after it’s been baking for 45 minutes.

The top should be golden brown and delicious.

The bread itself is slightly sweet, has the perfect crunch from the corn meal, and is bursting with the freshness of the strawberries. The batter provides a light and fluffy cushion for all of those delicious chopped berries. I can’t think of anything more perfect for summer.