Cayman Islands Cornbread

Submitted by HeatherFeather

"Adapted from the RSVP section of an old issue of Bon Appetit. This recipe was from a resort in the Cayman Islands. This is a sweeter, more cake-like cornbread and has a bit of rum in it."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 3⁄4 cup evaporated milk
• 3⁄4 cup milk
• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan well.
3. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
4. Whisk together both types of milk, eggs, butter, rum, and vanilla in another bowl.
5. Combine both mixtures using a wooden spoon, just enough to dampen all ingredients (it will still be a bit lumpy).
6. Pour into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and cake tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
7. Let cool on rack slightly before cutting into 12 small squares.

Reviews

[kemccallum]

Years ago my husband and I were introduced to Cayman Island cornbread at a wonderful restaurant in Georgetown. I think it was called the Eagles Nest. The host told us it was different from the cornbread we Americans were used to, and he was right! That meal is one of the best things I remember from that trip. Unfortunately, the Eagles Nest was destroyed during Hurricane Ivan. This recipe is the closest I’ve found to that wonderful memory and I thank you for sharing it.

 

[Blon-Dish]

The cornbread was very sweet and you could definitely taste the cinnamon. The recipe was okay and did accompany the Jamaican pork loin I made nicely.

 

[Josh Barratt]

This was a big hit at a carribean dinner I did. I made people guess the 'mystery flavor' which someone finally fingered as the rum. I too thought it was a very large amount of baking powder, but there was no 'soapy' flavor -- it worked well. I used a microplane grater to put in the nutmeg, and ended up overkilling a bit. That's the only thing I would have changed (and if I'd followed your recipe and not eyeballed, it would have tasted just the perfect amount 'nutmeggy'.) The texture was different, but it was welcome. I just made sure to warn people it was more 'corn cake' than 'corn bread' so they weren't turned off by the bait and switch.

 

[John W Wenzelburger]

Not your usual southern corn bread (I guess it is a lot farther south) Very good. Like Heather said it is "cakier" but it baked up very nice. To me it sounded like too much bakeing powder, but it worked out fine.