Caribbean Cornbread Recipe (2024)

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Caribbean Cornbread isextremely moist with bits of corn, crushed pineapple and the perfect amount of sweetness.✨ It pairs perfectly with your BBQ ribs or some Smoky Chicken Chili. This sweet cornbread is the epitome of island comfort food and will make you feel like "everting wi be irie!"✌️

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What do you think of sweet cornbread?

To sweeten or not to sweeten?

Apparently there’s quite the controversy over putting sugar in your cornbread.

Many people would just as soon eat cardboard than allow their precious golden bread to be corrupted with sweetness. I on the other hand just think we should all relax a little… because life’s too short to get upset over a few spoonfuls of sugar. After all it does help the medicine go down. #inthemostdelightfulway #marypoppinsrocks

Not to beat a dead corn stalk, but one of the inherent - and if you ask me most outstanding - qualities of corn is its sweetness. Therefore I do believe sugar and cornbread are able to coexist.

Personally, I will take my cornbread any way you cook it, just as long as it’s warm and slathered with tons of butter. Ahh butter. (heart eyes)

I think unsweetened corn bread goes best with chili, soups and stews (yep like thatSmoky Chicken Chili). But when I’m getting on the outside of some BBQ ribs I’ll take that sweet, golden goodness all day long! Like the Good Book says, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven… and a time forsugar in your cornbread.” Ok, so I added that last part.✌️

In light of this warm summery season, and my deep adoration for turquoise beaches, today we’re talking about sweet golden Caribbean Cornbread.

How I discovered the best sweet cornbread recipe!

This recipe originates from Bob and Melinda Blanchard’s Cookbook, At Blanchard’s Table - A Trip To The Beach Cookbook. They are authors and serial entrepreneurs who owned a number of successfulbusinesses including a million-dollar sauce and salad dressing company in Vermont... and sold it all to open a restaurant on the Caribbean island of Anguilla. It’s an inspiring story about following your dreams, and a lot of hard freaking work. Because as John C. Maxwell says “Dreams don’t work unless you do.” And along those same lines Ann Landers once noted, “Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat.”

I happened to catch an interview with the Blanchards on the Today Show many moons ago. They were promoting their newly released book A Trip To The Beach and their first cookbook At Blanchard’s Table. The B man surprised me with both books, and I was in enraptured. Their story was awe-inspiring. They had a dream, worked hard, took risks, and it all paid off.

It wasn’t too long after both B and I read their story that we made our first trip to the beautiful Anguilla beaches. It was everything.

Anguilla is a small island 16 miles long and 3 miles wide. It’s near other well-known islands like St. Maarten and St. Kitts and Nevis, located in the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea.

Anguilla is a hidden gem, partly because it’s too small to handle cruise ships, and partly because the airport is too small for large jets. That is all perfectly ok with us, and in part makes the island a peaceful paradise.☀️

It truly has everything… powdery white sand beaches, gorgeous places to stay, abundant tropical foliage, friendly locals, and of course delicious cuisine from wonderful places like Blanchards Restaurant. Oh, and lots of goats – can’t forget about those adorable fury creatures! We’ve continued to visit Anguilla many times over the years and it never disappoints. Truly tropical perfection.✨

The Blanchard’s restaurant is one of the not-to-be-missed dining spots on the island. It’s located right on the beach and is enveloped in lush tropical gardens. They offer a creative menu with flavors from the Caribbean, Asia, America and the Mediterranean in a comfortable, candlelit setting.

The perfect alternative to southern cornbread:

The Caribbean Cornbread is one of the many fusion dishes served at the restaurant, and has quite the fan base. Lucky for all of us this sunny sweet manna recipe can be replicated, like so many delightful treasures found in their cookbooks.

The cornbread recipe actually reads like a cake: creaming the butter and sugar together, slowly adding one egg at time. There special ingredients that separate this cornbread from the rest… can you even stand it?

Caribbean Sweet Cornbread Recipe

Caribbean Cornbread is extremely moist with bits of corn, crushed pineapple and the perfect amount of sweetness.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time45 minutes

Total Time55 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup flour
¾ cup yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
14.5 ounces canned creamed corn, (one 14.5 can, or 1 ½ cups)
½ cup drained crushed pineapple
4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
¼ cup canola oil - plus 2 tablespoons!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325
In a large bowl, combine the flour, corn meal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar. While the mixer is running, add the eggs one at a time beating well after each egg.
Continue running the mixer and slowly one at a time, add the creamed corn, pineapple, cheese and the ¼ cup canola oil. Mix until well blended. Slowly add the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix until well blended.
Grease a 9x2-inch round metal pan (or 9x9 square baking dish) with the remaining 2 tablespoons of canola oil and set in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and immediately pour the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. The cornbread should be golden brown when done. (You can also separate the mixture into into two round greased pans if preferred.)

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1 slice of bread
Amount Per ServingCalories 299Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 3gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 73mgSodium 540mgCarbohydrates 51gFiber 2gSugar 19gProtein 9g

Looking for the perfect match to this cornbread? Check out our Smoky Chicken Chili!

... or this Stout Beer Chili!

FAQs

What does adding an extra egg to cornbread do? ›

The extra egg which is increased protein and binder makes the cornbread denser and heavier in texture.

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What ingredient keeps cornbread from crumbling? ›

I want to keep the cornbread taste, just less crumbly! I recommend extra egg yolk, adding corn, and using cast iron to bake. Also, try a little lower temperature.

Should you soak cornmeal before making cornbread? ›

Soaking the cornmeal in buttermilk for a few hours, or even overnight, tenderizes the large grains of cornmeal, making the bread more moist and tender. This step is optional, however, and the bread is still delicious without the soaking step.

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What is the best cornmeal for cornbread? ›

As for the best cornmeal for cornbread, either fine- or medium-grind cornmeal is a great choice. Medium-grind cornmeal will bring slightly more texture and grittiness to the batter, which you may or may not want (it's up to you!). You can use fine or medium cornmeal in these extra corny muffins.

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What happens if I use 1 egg instead of 2? ›

Please note that substituting two large eggs with one extra-large egg might slightly alter the texture of your dish, but it typically won't drastically change the taste or overall outcome.

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Can you put too many eggs in cornbread? ›

On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

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Should you let cornbread batter rest? ›

1Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Note: We recommend allowing cornbread batter to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before baking, so if you prefer, you can delay heating the oven until you make the batter. 2Melt the butter, and then set aside to cool slightly.

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Why does my cornbread fall apart when I cut it? ›

Cornmeal gives cornbread its classic color and flavor, but too much can make your bread crumbly. Try replacing a little bit of cornmeal with flour. The specific measurements will depend on how much cornmeal and flour is in your recipe, but you should try to have more flour than cornmeal in your batter.

How do you keep cornbread from being dense? ›

So, you could marry someone from Alabama, or:

Try a good Southern cornmeal mix. ...
Use a goodly amount of flour along with cornmeal (up to a 1:1 mix or slightly less flour than cornmeal). ...
Try an extra egg and a splash more liquid than your recipe calls for.
Make sure your batter contains oil or melted butter.

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Jul 2, 2022

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Should cornbread batter sit before baking? ›

Cornbread Best Practices:

LET the batter sit for 15-20 minutes before baking. ...
BE gentle!! ...
START preheating your oven as soon as you set aside the batter to rise, by the time it's preheated, your batter should be ready to go in.
HEAT your skillet. ...
SUBSTITUTE regular salt for this amazing Smoked Salt.

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Jul 7, 2019

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Is it better to use butter or oil in cornbread? ›

My Conclusion: Butter is truly better! The texture of the cornbread as well as the flavor were much preferred in the version with melted butter. It was a little more cake-like and less crumbly than the coarser, less flavorful oil version.

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What happens if you use water instead of milk in cornbread? ›

Can I substitute water for milk in cornbread mix? Yes, you can, but it may result in a less rich flavor. If you're out of milk, try using cream or half-and-half, evaporated or powdered milk, or even plain yogurt. If you have dietary restrictions, try soy milk or oat milk.

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What is the difference between New York cornbread and southern cornbread? ›

While both styles generally use the same ingredients -- cornmeal, flour, eggs, and baking powder -- the variance lies in the flavor and texture. Northern-style cornbread tends to be sweeter, moister, and cake-like compared to its Southern counterpart.

How long can cornbread batter sit before baking? ›

The beauty of this cornbread is that you can leave the fully prepared batter in the refrigerator for 2 days before baking it. In a medium bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir the corn flour and cornmeal with the buttermilk until there are no dry pockets remaining.

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What is the difference between Yankee cornbread and Southern cornbread? ›

The thing that distinguishes Southern cornbread from, say Yankee cornbread, or any other cornbread one is likely to eat outside of the southern states, is that it is savory, not sweet, and it is made mostly with cornmeal.

What happens if you add an extra egg? ›

Eggs are responsible for giving baked goods structure, which means the amount you use directly affects the resulting texture. Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery. The explanation for this lies in the fact that eggs are made up of protein.

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How does an extra egg affect baking? ›

However, if you add too many eggs to your cake batter, then your end result could be spongy, rubbery, or dense. Like flour, eggs build structure in a cake, so they make a cake batter more bonded and dense.

What happens if you add too much egg? ›

It will become more dense. I always add an extra egg to my cake batter because I don't like dry/crumbly cake. Adding an extra egg won't make much difference; however, adding two or more extra eggs may give you a dense, rubbery cake—not the fine crumb you're after. It will also have an “eggy” taste.