Holy showstopper Batman!
Doesn’t Sweet and Spicy Upside down Jalapeño Honey Butter Cornbread sound impressive? It sure is a mouthful of a name… to match the mouthful of perfect cornbread that I’m currently snacking on.
Sweet, spicy, packed with flavor and insanely soft with perfectly crisp edges.
Ya feel me? You do. I can tell.
Every holiday meal, my mother would set the table with individual mini loafs adorned with our guests place cards that were done with the most beautiful calligraphy.
I cannot, repeat, CANNOT do beautiful calligraphy like my mother. What can I do, though? I can make a beautiful loaf.
This is not my mother’s zucchini bread, pumpkin loaf, or holiday spice confection.
No. This is my spicy sweet concoction that should set your guests mouths ablaze while also calming their tastebuds with smooth sweet honey.
Did I mention that you can make the entire thing in virtually 40 minutes start to finish? I didn’t!? Rude.
Well it all starts with a little chili pepper, and some orange blossom honey…
You will need for 8 mini loaves or 2 regular sized loaves:
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of chipotle pepper powder or chili powder
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 cup frozen or fresh kernels of corn
1/4 cup orange blossom honey
For the honey jalapeño caramel:
3 tablespoons butter
1 or 2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced into rings with seeds and veins removed
1/2 cup orange blossom honey
Pinch salt
Heat your oven to 375 degrees and grease your loaf pans.
In a saucepan over medium heat combine the 3 tablespoons butter with the jalapeño rings until the peppers are just fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add in the 1/2 cup honey and let simmer on low together for 5 minutes. Add in the salt and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl combine the melted butter with the sugar.
Whisk in the eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients into the eggs, butter, and sugar with the buttermilk. As you get to the end of adding the dry and wet ingredients, switch the whisk for a spatula to gently fold in the corn and honey; be careful not to over mix.
In the bottom of each loaf pan, spoon in a few tablespoons of the jalapeño honey caramel along with a few rings of jalapeño.
On top of the caramel, add the cornbread mixture until it reaches 2/3 full.
Bake for between 15-25 minutes depending on the size of your loaf pans. A toothpick inserted into the bread should come out with a few moist crumbs, and the tops of the loaves should be lightly browned.
While the cornbread is still a bit warm, flip them out of their pans and let cool completely on a rack before serving.
I don’t know about you, but if I walked into a holiday soiree and found this beauty waiting for me on my dinner plate, I’d have a whole new reason to be thankful.