Golden Brown-Butter Skillet Cornbread
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and America's Test Kitchen.
Butter is browned in the preheated skillet, whisked with buttermilk and eggs, folded into cornmeal, flour and leaveners, and baked in the same hot pan until golden.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Heat the pan. Put the empty cast-iron pan in the oven and heat to 220 °C (200 °C fan).
- 2
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate and salt together.
- 3
Brown the butter. Take out the hot pan, add the butter and swirl 1-2 minutes until it foams and smells nutty. Pour all but 1 tbsp into a bowl.
- 4
Mix the batter. Whisk the buttermilk and eggs into the browned butter, pour into the dry ingredients and fold until just combined.
- 5
Bake. Scrape into the hot pan and bake 18-22 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- 6
Serve. Cool 5 minutes, cut into 8 wedges and serve warm with butter.

Cat tip
The batter should sizzle as it hits the pan; that is what makes the crisp crust.
More from the cat
- Stop folding as soon as the flour disappears for a tender crumb.
- Leave that last spoonful of browned butter in the pan; it fries the base of the cornbread into a crisp crust.
Storage
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month. Warm through before serving. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- 25 cm cast-iron frying pan
- 2 mixing bowls
- whisk
- spatula
- skewer
- oven gloves
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 290 kcal |
| Protein | 6.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 37.1 g |
| of which sugars | 8.9 g |
| of which free sugars | 6.2 g |
| Fat | 12.9 g |
| of which saturates | 7.5 g |
| Fibre | 1.2 g |
| Salt | 1.38 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
2.2 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
