Mug Cornbread
A single portion of cornbread made in a mug with cornmeal, flour and buttermilk, cooked in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Photograph credit: Glory Foods Skillet Corn Muffins by Glory Foods · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
Making Mug Cornbread Ahead
Best eaten at once.
How to Make Mug Cornbread
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Grease a 350 ml mug with the 1 tsp butter.
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Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in the mug.
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Stir in the egg yolk, buttermilk and melted butter until just combined. Leave for 2 minutes.
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Microwave on high for 90 seconds, then check: the top should be dry and spring back. Add 15 seconds if the middle is wet.
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Leave to stand for 1 minute, then eat from the mug or turn out.
Tips for Success
- Fill the mug only halfway.
- Let the batter rest for 2 minutes.
- Check at 90 seconds.
Some Background
Chili for one, or a bowl of soup, needs something to eat alongside it, and a full pan of cornbread is too much. A mug of cornbread cooks in two minutes in the microwave, and it comes out surprisingly well: tender, golden and slightly sweet, with the gritty crumb that cornmeal gives.
The batter is simple. Cornmeal and plain flour in equal parts, baking powder, a spoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt, an egg yolk, and buttermilk or milk with a little vinegar to give a tang. Melted butter adds richness. Mix it in the mug itself, with a fork, until just combined, then let it stand for 2 minutes so the cornmeal softens.
Use a tall, wide mug and fill it only halfway. The batter rises as it cooks and will spill over the top in a smaller or fuller vessel. A cup of around 350 ml is ideal. Grease the inside with a little butter so the cornbread slides out cleanly.
Microwave for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave. The top should look dry and spring back when touched. If the middle is still wet, add 15 seconds at a time. Turn out onto a plate, split and butter it, or eat it straight from the mug with a spoon.
What to Put Next to It
Chili · Soup · Honey butter · Baked beans
Changing the Recipe
- Out of buttermilk? The usual stand-in is a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar stirred into 250 ml of ordinary milk and left five minutes; it is thinner than cultured buttermilk, so a batter may need a little less of it.
Mug Cornbread Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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