“I’m making the corn bread,” Suzen announced.

“Oh, good, honey,” I said. Then I bit my tongue as hard as I could and left the room. How, how was this possible? I had just given her my copy of Dessert by Yard, a treasure trove of wonders, like My Favorite White Birthday Cake with Chocolate and Butter Fudge Frosting. There are pages and pages of cakes and pies and cookies and treats I can’t begin to describe. Treats I have yet to put in my mouth.

And what does she choose to make? Corn bread.

Oh, yum. Corn bread is right up there on the list of things I have to have on a daily basis. It was so thrilling to learn that …

Truthfully, I like corn bread. Once in a while, on the side, with some chili. That’s fine. But I wanted a rich, dazzling dessert and corn bread is not on that list.

My mind began to change when she was making the glaze. The corn bread, fresh out of the oven, had that distinct aroma. And when the honey glaze hit it, there was heightened incense in the room, and the corn bread suddenly had this sparkling liquid top. The glaze slowly sank into the hundreds of tiny holes Suzen had poked.

I grabbed a knife.

“You will wait until dinner,” I was told. “Thirty minutes.”

“But,” I protested.

“I know exactly what you were thinking, Brian. Learn your lesson.”

Enjoy this wonder anytime, anywhere.

[I’m still going to make that cake, but without any sense of depravation.]

 

Honey-Glazed Spago Corn Bread

Yield: one 9-X-13 inch pan

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cake flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 ounces unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup buttermilk

For the cake:

• 3 ounces unsalted butter
• ¼ cup honey
• ⅓ cup water

 

Preparation:

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-X-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with pan spray.

Sift together the cornmeal, all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt 2 times. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs. Melt the butter and immediately whisk into the eggs in a slow stream. Whisk in the oil, milk, and buttermilk. Whisk in the dry ingredients just until combined.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan front to back and continue to bake for 10 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

To make the glaze, while the com bread is baking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the honey and water and whisk until blended.

When the corn bread is done, removed from the oven and pokes all over the bread, about ½ inch apart using a toothpick. Brush with the glaze and allow to cool.

This is wonderful warm or cold. It’s so rich you don’t need to put butter on top.

But you can. I did. However, I did not add honey. I’m a moderate.

The next day, heated in the oven, this is breakfast paradise.

That glaze, by the way, truly makes for a moist and sticky cake. It’s a fun treat.

Source: Dessert by the Yard by Sherry Yard