Southern Sweet-Corn Spoonbread Bowls with Hot Honey Butter & Soft Eggs

Spoonbread takes its name from a texture soft enough to scoop—a Southern cornmeal classic long tied to the region. Fresh sweet corn bakes into custardy bowls finished with hot honey butter and soft eggs.

Serves 4 · 15 min prep · 25 min cook

Estimate for one serving

• 445 cal
• 19g protein
• 38g carbs
• 25g fat

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Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups fresh sweet corn kernels
• 3/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 6 large eggs
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsp hot honey
• 3 scallions
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. 1Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease four oven-safe bowls or a small baking dish with a bit of butter.
2. 2In a blender, pulse half the corn kernels with the milk until mostly smooth but still a little textured. Pour into a mixing bowl.
3. 3Whisk the cornmeal, baking powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne into the corn-milk mixture until no dry streaks remain. Stir in the remaining whole corn kernels and most of the shredded cheddar.
4. 4Separate two of the eggs; beat the whites to soft peaks. Whisk the two yolks plus two whole eggs into the batter, then gently fold in the whipped whites to keep the spoonbread light.
5. 5Divide the batter among the prepared bowls. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until puffed, golden on top, and just set in the center with a slight jiggle.
6. 6While spoonbread bakes, melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan over low heat and stir in the hot honey until glossy and pourable; keep warm.
7. 7In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, fry or soft-scramble the remaining two eggs to your preferred doneness, seasoning lightly with salt.
8. 8Remove spoonbread from the oven. Top each portion with a soft egg, a generous spoon of hot honey butter, remaining cheddar, and thinly sliced scallions. Serve steaming hot so the butter melts into the corn pudding.