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The Best Sweet Cornbread Recipe

The Best Sweet Cornbread Recipe: quick and easy recipe for a sweet cake like cornbread that is moist and delicious.

You will love this homemade cornbread recipe.  It is sweet and cake like and so, so good.  It’s not only the perfect accompaniment to your dinner, but also a great snack or breakfast too.  It is pretty great just about anytime really.  It’s also really simple to make.  You can put it together in about 10 minutes and it’s so worth the minimal effort it takes to make it.  If you’re a fan of sweet cornbread, this is the best cornbread recipe.

sweet cake like cornbread

I’m kind of new to cornbread.  I didn’t grow up eating it.  The first time I tried this recipe was at a friend’s house.  They were having a tex-mex menu and served this cornbread.  I thought it was so good I had to have the recipe.  I’d tried cornbread before but never really loved it.  It was always just kind of dry and crumbly.  Not this recipe though.  This one was sweet and moist and almost cake like.  It complimented the meal of spicy and bbq food so well.  I’ve been making it ever since and my family and friends all love it.  It makes a really delicious side dish for a bbq menu.  And it’s perfect for feeding a lot of people.

I also love the leftovers.  It’s such a lovely breakfast with a drizzle of honey, or jam.  It’s a delicious way to start your day.  And with a cup tea in the afternoon around 2 pm it’s the perfect pick me up.

cornbread recipe

This recipe is so easy to put together.  You just combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another and then stir them together.  No stand mixer required.  Then it all gets poured into a regular 8 x 8 baking dish to bake.  That’s it.  So easy.  If you’ve been looking for a quick and delicious sweet cornbread recipe then you will love this.

easy sweet cornbread recipe

Quick Bread

This recipe is a quick bread.  Quick breads don’t require any yeast, they rely on a leavening agent like baking soda or baking powder.  Our cornbread uses baking powder as the leavening agent.  Although cornbread doesn’t rise much.  It’s typically quite a dense quick bread.  Quick bread gets its name from being quick to make.  There’s no need to wait for it to rise like traditional bread recipes.  This makes it really quick and easy to make.

quick cornbread recipe

Southern Style vs. Northern Style
Traditionally southern-style cornbread tends to be less sweet, and more crumbly, with a higher cornmeal content.  Southern cornbread is usually cooked in a cast iron skillet, with a more crusty outside.  

how to make cornbread without a mix

Northern cornbread is made with more eggs, and flour and has a buttery cake like texture and consistency.  It’s generally thought of as sweeter.  Historians point to the cost of sugar as the reason that cornbread in the south wasn’t traditionally sweetened with sugar.  

There’s much debate over which style of cornbread is better.  Our cornbread is definitely of the more cake like variety with extra ingredients like three eggs and all purpose flour added.  This helps create that cake like texture and tender crumb. It’s sweetened with sugar and honey.  If you like your cornbread on the sweet side, this sweet cake-like cornbread recipe is for you.

sweet cornbread

Sweet Cornbread

Our cornbread recipe is sweet and it gets its sweetness from two ingredients, sugar and honey.  That touch of honey helps add a depth of flavor.  Honey also has a higher sugar count and caramelizes faster than regular sugar, which contributes to that golden brown crust on the outside of the cornbread.  Even a little honey in baked goods also helps them last longer and stay moist longer.   

Don’t Over Cook

If this cornbread is accidently over cooked, it can become a bit too dry and crumbly.  Something you want to avoid.  One of the secrets to a moist cornbread recipe is actually in the baking.  You want the cornbread to be fully baked and not have any wet batter in the middle, but you don’t want to over bake it at all.  If you leave it in the oven too long it can become dry.  

cake like sweet cornbread recipe

To see if it’s finished baking use the toothpick test.  When the cornbread is golden brown on the top, insert a wooden toothpick about an inch deep into the center of the top of the cornbread.  If the toothpick is dry when it’s removed then the cornbread is ready.  If its wet from unbaked batter, then it needs to cook longer.  Set your timer for 2-5 minutes, and check it again.  As this sweet cornbread bakes it often develops a crack in the middle, this is normal.

Yield: 8 x 8 Baking Dish

The Best Sweet Cornbread Recipe

sweet cake like cornbread recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups milk

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
    2. In a large bowl combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
    3. In separate bowl combine the oil, melted butter, honey, eggs and milk. Stir with a whisk to fully combine.
    4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon to fully combine, but don't over stir.
    5. Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and then pour batter into the pan.
    6. Bake in a preheated oven for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, but take care not to over bake.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 201mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 3g
This cornbread is great served warm with a pat of butter on top to melt. It has delicious moist crumbs with a cake-like consistency that’s not too dry.  You might even try it with a honey butter.  

sweet cornbread recipe

Storing The Cornbread

Store any leftover cornbread in a airtight container or covered in plastic wrap at room temperature.

Serving Ideas

This delicious cornbread makes a great side dish.  We often serve it with bbq ribs, our homemade macaroni and cheese -get the recipe here, and our slow cooker baked beans -get the recipe here.  This is the best homemade cornbread recipe if you like a sweet cornbread.

I also love it for breakfast with butter and blueberry jam.  I think it tastes like a great blueberry muffin, but with that wonderful cornmeal texture that’s so, so yummy.  Just trust me on this one.  My husband was kind of reluctant to try it after I discovered this amazing combination.  I forced him to give it a try with words like, trust me, have I ever steered you wrong when it comes to yummy food.  He did try it and later that day said to me how amazing it was and how could he ever doubt me.  Ha, ha.  Just trust me.  It’s so perfect with a hot cup of coffee or tea in the morning, although admittedly quite a sweet start to the day.

sweet cornbread easy recipe

That delicious combination got me thinking about having this sweet cornbread as an easy dessert.  I’m imagining this cornbread as cornbread shortcake.  Imagine macerated strawberries and sweet whipped cream.  Sounds like another match made in heaven to me.

This easy recipe is sure to become a favorite.  It’s so quick to make and everyone always loves it.  

how to make cornbread from scratch

With this sweet cake like cornbread recipe, life really is a party.

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also like our Homemade Mac and Cheese Recipe here.

mac and cheese recipe with panko

Also try our Slow Cooker Baked Beans Recipe here.

Slow Cooker Baked Beans Recipe: once you've tried homemade baked beans you'll never want to go back to the canned version again.

 

You might also enjoy Marinated, Grilled, Flattened Chicken Recipe here.

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