Cream and Beer Cast Iron Cornbread Recipe
Cornbread cooked in cast iron. There’s really no other way to cook cornbread, is there? This is the simple recipe for cornbread that we use for everything from our round, basic cornbread to corn muffins to cornbread-topped chili. It’s an easy, 6 or 7 ingredient recipe that will create a nice, crumbly-centered, crunchy, and buttery-crusted cornbread.
I have created this recipe with beer, buttermilk, sour cream, and even a mixture of beer with another liquid ingredient. The key to this recipe is the consistency of the cornbread batter. You can experiment with other ingredients; just get an initial feel for the consistency of the batter.
This batter will be thicker and airier than most cornbread batters. That baking powder will start reacting fast when you add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
When cooked, the top (as it sits in the cast iron) will be lumpy and bumpy. But, that’s the faux top. It was bottoms up at my house growing up. We would always flip our cornbread and serve the buttery crust upside.
Don’t cut back on the butter. This recipe does not call for any oil. The oil…rather fat…will come from the butter we use in the skillet. The key to great cornbread that does not stick is the butter. When we preheat that cast iron skillet at 425°F / 215°C with that butter in the skillet, the cornbread will start to cook as soon as it hits that hot butter. We want that cornbread to “cook” on that butter and not on that cast iron. The excess butter will soak into that cornbread and give it that crunchy, buttery crust. It will also create a cornbread that will just pop out when it’s flipped later. And…AND! The butter will add to the seasoning of that skillet.
It’s important that you do not let that butter burn. And it’s equally important that the butter is not only melted before you add your batter but HOT! It’s that in-the-middle butter that you are looking for. You want the butter to be “toasted” but not dark brown like roux-color (dark red or dark brown). The butter should “brown” a little and that batter should sizzle a bit when pouring it into that pan.
Most of the time, after we pop out that cornbread, I will run a dry towel over that cast iron surface while holding the pan over the sink to catch the crumbs. Try it and your pan will come away even more beautiful than before you cooked that cornbread!
The Cast Iron
If you want to use a 12” skillet and create this recipe, then that’s A-OK. If you use the recipe as-is, you’ll end up with a thinner version of this cornbread (not better or worse…just thinner). If you want to create a ginormous batch of cornbread, double this recipe. That 12” skillet will hold almost twice the volume of that 10.25” skillet. That’ll be a lot of cornbread.
It’s amazing how much more the 12” skillet can hold versus the 10.25” skillet. I filled my Wagner 10.25” with water and poured it over into my Lodge 12” skillet. Then, I filled the 10.25” again and poured it into the 12” inch. Aside from a cup or so, the 12” took most of the water from the second fill.
(Affiliate Links)
Lodge L8SK3 10-1/4-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet: https://amzn.to/3HN2BJg
Lodge Yellowstone – 10.25″ Skillet: https://amzn.to/3piSUMg
Lodge Cast Iron Skillet with Red Silicone Hot Handle Holder, 12-inch: https://amzn.to/44yKwZn
Lodge Yellowstone – 12″ Skillet (makes me wish my name was “Dutton”): https://amzn.to/3LZbfae
Lodge L10SKL Cast Iron Pan, 12″, Black: https://amzn.to/3VB5zq5
Supplies You May Need (Affiliate Links)
Measuring Spoons: https://amzn.to/3n8o5J5
Measuring Cups: https://amzn.to/3yWrz41
Silicone Spatula Set: https://amzn.to/3VFKkmZ
Cutting Board: https://amzn.to/42nIGt4
Baking and Cooling Rack: https://amzn.to/4310Pxa
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
1 ½ cup Yellow Cornmeal
1 ½ cup All-purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Salt
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup Half and Half
½ cup Beer
2 Eggs
FYI: 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar for more of a muffin, sweeter flavor.
RESERVE 4 Tablespoons of Butter (don’t add to the recipe).
Ready to Cook
Let’s get started. Mix your ingredients as per dry and wet. Keep them separate until you are ready to pour that batter over and into that hot cast iron skillet. The butter is NOT to be mixed into the recipe; the butter is to be added to the skillet and the cornbread will take up what butter it wants.
Step 1: Add the 4 tablespoons of butter to the 10.25” cast iron skillet.
Step 2: Preheat your 10.25” cast iron skillet with the butter in a 425°F / 215°C Oven. Keep an eye on it; don’t let the butter burn.
Step 3: Blend all the dry ingredients together. Wait before you add the wet ingredients.
Step 4: Mix the wet ingredients: 1 cup of half and half and the ½ cup of beer to a bowl and then add the two eggs. Whisk together well with a fork or whisk.
Before adding and mixing the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients, wait until just before you are ready to add the batter to the hot skillet with the melted and slightly toasted butter.
NOTE: The butter will toast and there will be some solids that have “toasted” themselves out of that butter. That’s okay. It’s all good. You just don’t want burned butter.
Step 5: Once the skillet in the oven is wicked hot and the butter is just starting to brown (toast), pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and blend well with a rubber / silicone spatula to create the batter.
Step 6: Remove the hot skillet from the oven and set on the stove top. Pour all the batter into the middle of the hot skillet and spread about as evenly as it will allow. The edges will be bubbling up from hitting that hot butter.
Step 7: Return the hot skillet with the batter to the 425°F / 215°C oven and let it bake for about 25 minutes…give or take. I like the top of the cornbread to bake until the top is toasted a bit.
Step 8: After 20-25 minutes and when it “looks” done, test the center with a knife like testing a cake for doneness. Some folks use a toothpick or something similar. I just use a table knife and see if anything wet still needs cooking.
Step 9: Remove the cornbread from the oven and let the cornbread cool just a bit in that skillet; the edges of the cornbread will start to pull away from the sides of the skillet just a bit as the cornbread cools. Don’t leave it too long; it’ll sweat, and you’ll lose that crunchy texture. It will not take long, about 2-4 minutes to be ready to remove.
Step 10: Cover the cornbread with a plate or a cutting board. Turn the skillet up and the plate down to flip the cornbread out and upside down. There ain’t no reason to wait for it to cool. Just start enjoying it!
Chef Tip: Add 3 to 6 tablespoons of sugar for more of a muffin-like, sweeter flavor.
Chef Tip: Buttermilk makes a GREAT cornbread. You will need to consider the consistency of butter milk and add a bit more beer (just a bit) to get the right consistency if you use buttermilk.
Chef Tip: Consider using a coarse-ground cornmeal instead of the finely ground cornmeal. It will give the cornbread a wonderful texture.
What Do You Think of My Wagner 1891 Skillet?
It’s kinda gunky ain’t it? Na. To me it’s a treasure. Want to read the story as to why this skillet is a treasure to me? Sure, you do. Here’s the link: https://beerandiron.com/2023/05/wagner-1891-original-cast-iron-skillet-story
Summary
And, it’s just that easy. This recipe can be modified and “played” with. Consider adding corn kernels to the batter or maybe some green chilies. Some cheese mixed in that batter is amazing!
Hey. My name is Sulae. And I love to share the magic that comes out of my black pots and pans. Y’all keep hanging out here at BeerAndIron.com and take a moment to sign up for the newsletter. Trust me, I ain’t gonna bug you.
We’ll see you all next time. And keep on cooking in those black cast iron beauties and enjoying those frosted glasses of that fermented barley pop! Que the pop, hiss, and gurgle-gurgle of beer pouring into your frosted Shaker Pint!
Supplies You May Need (Affiliate Links)
Lodge L8SK3 10-1/4-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet: https://amzn.to/3HN2BJg
Lodge Yellowstone – 10.25″ Skillet: https://amzn.to/3piSUMg
Lodge Cast Iron Skillet with Red Silicone Hot Handle Holder, 12-inch: https://amzn.to/44yKwZn
Lodge Yellowstone – 12″ Skillet (makes me wish my name was “Dutton”): https://amzn.to/3LZbfae
Lodge L10SKL Cast Iron Pan, 12″, Black: https://amzn.to/3VB5zq5
Silicone Spatula Set: https://amzn.to/3VFKkmZ
Website: https://beerandiron.com/
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Cast Iron Cream and Beer Cornbread Recipe
Equipment
- 1 10.25" Skillet A 12" Cast Iron Skillet will give you a thinner cornbread.
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Small Bowl To whisk the milk and egg in.
- 1 Rubber Spatula Or silicone spatula.
- 1 Drying Rack Optional
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cup Yellow Cornmeal
- 1 ½ Cup White Flour
- 2 TBL Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Salt ½-1 teaspoon per taste
Wet Ingredients
- 1 Cup Half and Half
- ½ Cup Beer
- 2 Egg
Reserve
- 4 TBL Butter For the skillet. Do not add to the recipe.
Instructions
- Add the 4 tablespoons of butter to the 10.25” cast iron skillet.
- Preheat your 10.25” cast iron skillet with the butter in a 425°F / 215°C Oven. Keep an eye on it; don’t let the butter burn.
- Blend all the dry ingredients together. Wait before you add the wet ingredients.
- Mix the wet ingredients: 1 cup of half and half and the ½ cup of beer to a bowl and then add the two eggs. Whisk together well with a fork or whisk.Before adding and mixing the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients, wait until just before you are ready to add the batter to the hot skillet with the melted and slightly toasted butter.NOTE: The butter will toast and there will be some solids that have “toasted” themselves out of that butter. That’s okay. It’s all good. You just don’t want burned butter.
- Once the skillet in the oven is wicked hot and the butter is just starting to brown (toast), pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and blend well with a rubber / silicone spatula to create the batter.
- Remove the hot skillet from the oven and set on the stove top. Pour all the batter into the middle of the hot skillet and spread about as evenly as it will allow. The edges will be bubbling up from hitting that hot butter.
- Return the hot skillet with the batter to the 425°F / 215°C oven and let it bake for about 25 minutes…give or take. I like the top of the cornbread to bake until the top is toasted a bit.
- After 20-25 minutes and when it “looks” done, test the center with a knife like testing a cake for doneness. Some folks use a toothpick or something similar. I just use a table knife and see if anything wet still needs cooking.
- Remove the cornbread from the oven and let the cornbread cool just a bit in that skillet; the edges of the cornbread will start to pull away from the sides of the skillet just a bit as the cornbread cools. Don’t leave it too long; it’ll sweat, and you’ll lose that crunchy texture. It will not take long, about 2-4 minutes to be ready to remove.
- Cover the cornbread with a plate or a cutting board. Turn the skillet up and the plate down to flip the cornbread out and upside down. There ain’t no reason to wait for it to cool. Just start enjoying it!
