Turquoise Room Cornbread
This recipe comes from the La Posada's Turquoise Room. I emailed the chef and he shared the recipe (except it was made 5 times as much). It's served with their signature Sweet Corn and Black Bean Soup and it's incredible. Note: It's a bit sweet because of the mesquite syrup that is used. Unless you live in the southwest you'll probably have to buy it online. It's great even without the glaze!
This recipe comes from the La Posada's Turquoise Room. I emailed the chef and he shared the recipe (except it was made 5 times as much). It's served with their signature Sweet Corn and Black Bean Soup and it's incredible. Note: It's a bit sweet because of the mesquite syrup that is used. Unless you live in the southwest you'll probably have to buy it online. It's great even without the glaze!
- Carbohydrate 50.1428164084266 g
- Cholesterol 59.678946386674 mg
- Fat 20.2209258975919 g
- Fiber 3.6550203202512 g
- Protein 5.59154974025468 g
- Saturated Fat 10.0903706149697 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (125g)
- Sodium 739.423573526891 mg
- Sugar 46.4877960881754 g
- Trans Fat 1.41317945816942 g
- Calories 400 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. (one 8 x 8 or 12 muffin).
- In mixing bowl combine all the cornbread ingredients and mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl carefully. Spoon into prepared pan.
- Bake Time: 8 x 8 x 2 baking pan = 22 - 26 minutes, or until golden brown. Standard muffin pan = 12 - 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
- While cornbread is baking, in a small pan mix together the syrup, honey and butter and heat until butter is melted and thoroughly combined.
- Remove cornbread from oven, with a toothpick poke holes in the top and drizzle the glaze over the top. Cool before serving.
Piercing baked goods while hot allows sugar-heavy liquids to penetrate the interior crumb rather than pooling uselessly on the exterior crust. This southwestern-style iteration incorporates mesquite syrup, a regional sweetener derived from legume pods that contributes distinct earthy, smoky undertones distinct from standard cane sugar or maple syrup. Sourcing mesquite syrup is ideal for authenticity, though dark amber maple syrup serves as a functional one-to-one replacement if regional specialty products are unavailable. Substituting maple syrup shifts the flavor profile away from subtle smoke toward straightforward woodiness without altering the structural moisture balance of the crumb.
Standardizing the batter requires integrating wet components thoroughly before introducing the dry mix to prevent gluten development in commercial corn muffin bases. Butter must be melted and cooled slightly before combining with eggs and milk to avoid premature coagulation of the proteins. Sour cream introduces lactic acid, which reacts with chemical leavening agents present in packaged mixes while adding dairy fat that coats flour proteins to yield a tender crumb. Creamed corn contributes whole kernels and extra starch, increasing moisture retention compared to standard dry-mix preparations.
Baking temperatures dictate crust color and interior cell structure, requiring a preheated environment maintained at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Utilizing an eight-by-eight-inch metal baking pan yields an even thermal transfer, whereas glass pans require a temperature reduction of twenty-five degrees to prevent over-browning the outer edges before the center sets. Standard square pans require twenty-two to twenty-six minutes in the oven, while partitioning the batter into twelve individual muffin tins accelerates the process, finishing in twelve to fifteen minutes. Visual doneness is signaled when the edges pull slightly away from the metal and the surface turns a deep golden brown.
Creating the glaze requires gentle heat applied to a stovetop pan containing honey, butter, and mesquite syrup just until liquefied and emulsified. Poking holes across the top of the warm cornbread with a wooden toothpick creates channels for this warm mixture to saturate the upper third of the bake. Allowing the finished bread to cool completely at room temperature permits the sugars to recrystallize slightly, stabilizing the crumb structure for clean slicing.
