If you haven’t had corn cake before to best explain it is if polenta and dutch baby made a baby it would be this cake. This corn cake is made with kefir which gives it a delicious, slightly tangy flavor. I will be honest - the first bite of this cake is slightly strange but it hooks you! The flavor profile starts off sweet similar to cornbread with strong honey notes and finishes custard-y and slightly cheesy. Corn cake makes a great rustic dessert that isn’t overly sweet, and the use of kefir and parmesan gives this cake an unexpected twist.

History of Corn Cake

If you haven’t heard of “corn cake” before you might know the dish by a different name - in New England this delicious treat has been called “johnny cake” since 1739, and in the south this cake has been known as “hoecake” since 1745. There are a few theories where each name came from - the term “hoecake” is said to either come from cooking the cake on a pan called ‘hoe’, or from people cooking the cakes on hot blades of gardening hoes. Historians believe that the term “johnny cakes” stuck around from the English settlers who mispronounced “Shawnee cakes”. Another theory suggests that since the cake is traditionally made from humble ingredients that didn’t spoil easily they were originally called “journey cakes” and got shortened to “johnny cakes” over time.

How to make corn cake?

Instead of heating up a garden blade this recipe starts off by heating your cast iron skillet. Preheat oven to 350f and put 1/4 cup of butter on the skillet and place it in the oven to heat. Meanwhile make the batter. Melt the remaining 3/4 cup butter and mix it together in a large bowl with the kefir, sweetened condensed milk, shredded parmesan, eggs, baking powder, cornmeal, honey, and desired amount of freshly grated nutmeg. Using a food processor blend the batter in 2 batches for 30 seconds. Whisk back together in a bowl and pull the cast iron skillet out. Pour the batter in the hot skillet and bake for 50 minutes until golden brown on top. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before serving. When ready to serve dust with powdered sugar.

Tips

Get your desired amount of bite by choosing the correct grind level of the cornmeal; if you want a smoother, more custard like texture go with fine ground, but if you like more structure choose more coarse grind.
Do not use store shredded cheese. That dusty coating store bought shredded cheese has is powdered cellulose or potato starch which affects the way the cheese melts and overall texture.
Elevate the presentation by using a stencil when dusting the cake with powdered sugar. To keep your design from disappearing use snow sugar (non-melting powdered sugar).
For a rustic presentation and to protect your hands from the hot handle tie a decorative kitchen towel around it.