Brown Butter Skillet Cornbread with Caraway

crispy crust and crumbly center with hint of caraway. a trifecta of 'c's, if you will

Ingredients

3/4 cup (1-½ stick) salted butter, divided

3 eggs

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup whole wheat flour (Or AP flour. Alternatively, if GF, you can use almond flour or 1:1 GF flour)

1-1/2 cup ground cornmeal (can be coarse or fine grounds, depending on desired texture)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp whole caraway seeds

1/2 cup buttermilk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 9 inch cast-iron skillet or oven-proof skillet pan in the oven to preheat. Meanwhile, make your batter.

2. Brown ½ cup butter (1 stick) in a small saucepan. To do so, place over medium heat, for 4-8 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure butter is not burning on the bottom. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam and sizzle around the edges. Continue cooking until the butter turns golden brown and some foam has subsided, revealing the milk solids at the bottom of the pan which will be toasty brown. Remove from heat and pour into a medium sized heatproof bowl. Let cool completely (feel free to pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes).

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, caraway, and salt. Set aside.

4. To your butter, add maple syrup and whisk vigorously or beat on medium speed with a hand held mixer, until well incorporated and the mixture has lightened in color slightly, about 3-5 minutes.

5. Mix in eggs to the mixture and beat until combined and frothy, about 2-3 minutes.

6. Fold in your dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

7. Add in milk and mix to create a smooth batter.

8. Carefully remove the preheated pan from the oven. Immediately, place remaining ¼ cup butter in the center of the pan and spread evenly to coat, including the sides of the pan (easies to just rotate the pan around but you can also use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon.) Pour batter into your prepared pan.

9. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees. Return the pan to the center baking rack and let cook for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick, when inserted in the center, comes out clean.

MEANWHILE: Make whipped honey butter

10. When your cornbread is ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes. Best served warm :)