Recipes › Chilli Pepper (Hot) › Chilli Pepper Cornbread
Chilli Pepper Cornbread
A deeply savoury American-Southern-style cornbread packed with diced fresh hot chillies throughout — not stirred in as an afterthought, but enough to give every single bite a slow, building heat. The crumb is moist and tender, the crust is crisp from a cast-iron pan, and it is done in under 40 minutes from start to finish. Serve warm alongside beans, chilli or grilled sweetcorn.
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Ingredients
- 5 Hot chilli peppers, finely diced, seeds in or removed to taste
- 200 g Fine polenta or cornmeal
- 120 g Plain flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Fine salt
- 1 tbsp Caster sugar
- 100 g Mature cheddar, coarsely grated
- 240 ml Whole milk
- 120 g Soured creamfull-fat yoghurt works equally well
- 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
- 60 g Unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for the pan
- 3 Spring onions, finely sliced
Contains: cereals gluten, eggs, milk.
Method
- Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Place a 25cm cast-iron skillet or heavy ovenproof frying pan in the oven to heat up while you make the batter.About 5 min
- In a large bowl, whisk together the polenta, plain flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar until combined.
- In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together the milk, soured cream, beaten eggs and melted butter.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined — do not overmix, a few lumps are fine. Fold in the diced chillies, grated cheddar and spring onions.
- Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. Add a knob of butter and swirl it around so it melts and coats the base and sides. Pour in the batter immediately — it should sizzle at the edges.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20–22 minutes until the top is golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. The edges will have pulled away slightly from the pan.About 22 min
- Leave in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out or slice and serve warm directly from the pan.About 5 min
Tips
- Heating the pan in the oven before adding the batter gives you a properly crisp bottom crust — do not skip this step.
- For maximum chilli flavour, keep the seeds in at least half of the chillies. The dairy in the recipe mellows the heat noticeably.
- This is genuinely best eaten warm on the day it is made, but if you have leftovers, toast slices in a dry pan the next morning — they become something quite different and equally good.
Ring the changes
- Add 150g drained tinned sweetcorn kernels to the batter along with the chillies for a sweeter, more textured loaf.
- Swap the cheddar for crumbled feta for a saltier, tangier result.
Keeping it
Store cooled cornbread wrapped in foil at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat individual slices in a dry frying pan or low oven at 160°C for 8 minutes.
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