I have a few self-imposed rules that were established based off the premises that I believe in attempting a healthy lifestyle and/or that I have absolutely NO self-control when it comes to my favourite foods.
None.
Nada.
Although some may seem silly, I promise you these rules have a purpose, and, for your sake, I won’t divulge my inner workings, but I will remark that one of these rules is:
no baking of cornbread unless I can immediately share it.
Sigh. Breaking rules is bad. Very, very bad.
I have this weird thing for cornbread. If you saw my Thanksgiving post (BAMB: http://bakecetera.com/cornbread-macarons-with-cranberry-cream-cheese-filling/ ), you know. But, at Thanksgiving I followed the rule, and lots of people came over to help me eat the cornbread (in all of its various forms).
I thought this past weekend would be an excellent time to take my favourite cornbread recipe and make it vegan because I was going to have a small dinner with a few friends. I looked at all the ingredients, and I ended up changing almost everything about it. Cashew milk (homemade!) and vinegar replaced the buttermilk, my new find of flax meal in baking was used for one egg, and some apple sauce replaced the other egg and the sugar. Finally, I took out the butter and used olive oil instead. It was a beautiful transformation… until my dinner ended up not happening, and I was left alone with an entire pan of cornbread.
Yikes.
The good news? I thoroughly tasted the cornbread, repeatedly, so I can assure you that this cornbread is indeed just as good (or even better) than my old favourite!
Vegan cornbread – What you need:
- 1 cup cashew milk* minus 1 tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon flax meal dissolved in 3 tablespoons of water
- ¼ cup applesauce
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Vegan cornbread – what you do:
Preheat the oven to 175c, and grease a dish. (20cm x 25cm, or I used a 25cm round cake pan)
Combine the cashew milk and vinegar, set aside for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flax meal and water mixture. Whisk in the apple sauce, then, once combined, whisk in the olive oil.
Add the cashew milk/vinegar mix, and then immediately after stir in the baking soda.
Stir in the cornmeal, flour, and salt. Combine well, but don’t over mix!
Scoop the batter into the prepared dish and smooth to create an even surface (the batter will be thick!).
Bake at 175c for 25-30 minutes. The top will be golden brown, but the inside will still be moist.
This SHOULD serve 8-10 people.
(nom. nom. close up. nom.)
Look! The cornbread made it out of the pan! (Pretty big feat for me, just saying.)
*Cashew milk – Now, I’ve heard heaps about this stuff, and I’ve always wanted to make it and use it in recipes, but I have NEVER found raw cashews (in Paris) and I’m terrible at remembering to pre-prep ingredients. Typically, cashew milk is made with raw cashews that are soaked for 8-10 hours prior to preparation.
Umm… my style:
Cashew milk – What you need:
- 1 cup of (raw?) cashews
- 1 cup of water
Cashew milk – What you do:
Well, let’s see. Since my cashews weren’t raw, I rinsed them twice, trying to rub off all the salt and roasted goodness. Then, I completely covered them with water, and placed them in the refrigerator for 3 ½ hours.
After, I rinsed them off, and then with the cup of fresh water (noted above) I blended them in my food processor until a creamy cashew milk was formed. It made about 1 ½ cups of cashew milk… but it was super thick, so if you were after a thinner cashew milk, add some more water!
NOW – what everyone else tells you to do is use raw cashews, soak them for 8 to 10 hours, rinse, then blend.
Either way – cashew milk is super simple, and it worked wonderfully in this cornbread!
I made fennel, pumpkin, and comte cheese (spiced with paprika!) empanadas to go with my cornbread! These: http://givemeflour.com/?p=599 have been bookmarked for about a year on my computer, and once I saw these: http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/home/2013/1/10/squash-goat-cheese-empanadas.html, I knew it was time to try.
This recipe is unbelievable (and fun AND simple!). I will definitely make it again!
Baking soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:
Oh gosh. I was stressing about this part of the post because ALL I've been listening to lately are the Lumineers. But then! I realized that I haven't yet used this album on Bakecetera yet. Phew, problem solved.
The Lumineers - Flowers in your hair: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sb6LduFwRM
The Lumineers - Flapper girl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9Cyqxvlvew
Happy Sunday!