Baking Sweet Potato Cornbread soothes the soul
October is my favorite month: The brutal heat of summer is (usually) completely behind us. The sky turns a deep, yet still vibrant blue. The leaves show us their inner colors before falling away to let the trees’ figures wow us with their curves. The lines between reality and fantasy blur for a bit with children and dogs with fairy wings, smiling ghosts and ghouls lurking in bushes and on rooftops.
October is also my least favorite month: One marked with darkness, literal and figurative. The days get noticeably shorter. The vibrant colors of summer fade and fruits left on the vine shrivel and die to release their seeds. And it is a month permanently scarred by the loss of loved ones.
On the crisp blue days I’m energized and ready to face the world — go for a hike, work in the yard, turn on the oven and bake something to fill my house with the scent of warm spices. On the sluggish gray days I just want to stay in bed and sleep until the first frost.
This week I’ve wanted to stay in bed.
Instead I dragged myself to the kitchen, turned on the oven and got out my measuring cups and bowls because baking always makes me feel better. I am calmed by the preciseness of measuring ingredients — spooning flour into a measuring cup, scraping the excess away with a flat blade; scooping up baking powder and dragging the tablespoon across the flat metal lip of the paper carton; pouring milk into a spouted cup, raising the cup to eye level and checking the meniscus to be sure the amount is correct, pondering that meniscus is both the curved surface of the liquid and the cartilage inside my knees. Tension is released by the gentle, but forceful crack of an egg against the counter. I am soothed by the tap, squelch, tap, squelch of a wire whisk cutting through eggs and melted butter as it hits the sides of a mixing bowl.
It’s a process that gives me focus, purpose and a reward for the effort. It helps me feel and be productive when I least feel up to it.
Quick breads are immensely satisfying on these days because the gratification is near instantaneous compared to yeast breads and elaborate desserts.
This sweet potato enhanced cornbread is excellent with chili or sliced and served warm with a slather of butter. The original recipe, from America’s Test Kitchen “The Savory Baker” included ¼ cup brown sugar. If you like sweet, cake-like cornbread, go ahead and use the full amount. I found 2 tablespoons to be sufficient to highlight the sweet potato’s sweetness, but not so much to make this cornbread taste like cake. To give the bread a more savory edge, I added finely chopped green onions to the cornmeal mixture when I folded in the mashed sweet potatoes.
Sweet Potato Cornbread
1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium), scrubbed but not peeled
9 tablespoons butter, divided use
½ cup whole milk
4 eggs
1 ½ cups cornmeal
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons to ¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¾ teaspoons fine salt (reduce to 1 ½ teaspoons if using salted butter)
4 green onions, trimmed and finely chopped white and green parts, optional
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Prick potatoes all over with the tines of a fork. Microwave on 100% power, flipping sweet potatoes every 5 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft and the surfaces are slightly wet, 10 to 15 minutes total.
Immediately cut them in half to release the steam and let cool.
Meanwhile, melt 8 tablespoons of the butter.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash until smooth, you should have about 1 ¾ cups; discard the skins. (I actually save them for dog treats. My dogs love them.) Whisk in the milk, melted butter and eggs, whisking until smooth.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Using a flexible spatula, fold the potato mixture and green onions (if using) into the cornmeal mixture; mixing just until no white streaks remain.
Place the remaining tablespoon of butter in a 10inch cast-iron skillet set over medium heat. (Or place the butter in a 9-inch cake pan and place the pan in the oven until the butter melts.) Once melted, swirl the butter to coat. Scrape the batter into the hot skillet or pan and spread it in an even layer. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake until cornbread is golden and a tester inserted near the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Let cool in skillet set on a wire rack before serving.
Makes 8 to 10 servings. Recipe adapted from “The Savory Baker: 150 Creative Recipes, From Classic to Modern” from America’s Test Kitchen