This past week, I had an overabundance of sweet potatoes in the kitchen. I typically buy them 5-10 pounds at a time. This time, not only did I buy a 10 lb bag, but then I forgot that I bought that bag and bought a second 10 pound bag a few days later.
So, we had a sweet potato hash for breakfast, simply mashed sweet potatoes with our dinner a couple of nights and I still had a good 10-15 pounds of potatoes in the basket.
I’ve had sweet potato breads on my mind for a while now; thanks to my friend, Sue and her sweet potato biscuits last year. So, this was the perfect chance to try that out. I wanted something similar to a hearty cornbread, but still very moist like a muffin.
These came out exactly like I’d hoped. This is not a sweet muffin, this is a bread barely sweetened with a touch of honey. If you prefer it a bit sweeter, top it with butter and a drizzle of honey. I enjoyed mine with just a smear of butter on top.
This recipe can be baked in a 9×13 pan, a full size (10″) cast iron skillet or 18-24 muffin cups (depending on size). I found that the muffin cups rose very little, while still turning out light and fluffy.
Spice Cornbread with Roasted Sweet Potato {traditional and gluten free recipes}
Servings: 12 -14 servings
Ingredients
- ▢3 medium sweet potatoes roasted, peeled and mashed, about 1 1/4 cups worth
- ▢4 eggs
- ▢1 1/2 cups buttermilk this substitute works as well
- ▢1/2 cup honey
- ▢1/2 cup light flavored olive oil
- ▢1 1/4 cups cornmeal
- ▢3/4 cup oat flour additional cornmeal may be substituted for the oat flour
- ▢2/3 cup brown rice flour *
- ▢1/3 cup tapioca starch *
- ▢1 tablespoon baking powder
- ▢1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ▢3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ▢1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- ▢1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ▢* if a gluten free recipe is not necessary substitute 1 cup of AP flour for the items marked with an *
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash and pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork. Set them on a baking sheet and then roast in the oven for 45 – 60 minutes. When they are tender, remove from the oven and let rest until cool enough to handle. Cut them open and remove the peel. Place the sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl and mash them with a potato masher. Add the eggs, milk, honey and oil to the potatoes and whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Generously grease the baking pan of your choice and pour the cornbread mixture into it. Bake until the top of the bread is barely browning around the edges and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- For the muffins, this was about 15 minutes. For the skillet or a 9×13 pan, it should take between 30-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool. Allow the cornbread to cool in the pan, if you make a full size version instead of muffins. Serve warm or allow the cornbread to cool before slicing. Enjoy!
Buttermilk Recipe
When you run across a recipe calling for buttermilk, making your own is a simple matter. Follow this formula: Acid + Milk + a few minutes to rest = Buttermilk
I often use lemon juice to curdle the milk but white vinegar works just as well. I’ve also seen others use apple cider vinegar with good results. Just be sure to avoid the more pungent, strong vinegars like balsamic vinegar and wine vinegar.
There are plenty of other methods out there for making buttermilk substitute. You can dilute a little sour cream or plain yogurt with water or add a pinch of cream of tartar to your regular.
This buttermilk substitute functions identically to the real stuff on a chemical level. So even though it’s not technically buttermilk, it’s the only recipe you need for baked goods that call for buttermilk as an ingredient.