Cast Iron Cornbread

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sbuttermilk
• cup cornmeal
• large eggs
• tablespoon shoney, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• pinch cayenne pepper
• cup self-rising flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Melt butter in a 9 inch cast iron skillet. Turn off the heat; set the skillet aside.
3. Whisk buttermilk, cornmeal, eggs, honey, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a large bowl. Add flour and 1/2 of the butter from the pan; whisk again. Pour batter over remaining butter in the skillet.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool briefly before slicing. Chef John

Tips

I followed Chef John's recipe exactly, and paid attention to his tips -- reducing butter to 6 T total. It looked beautiful and had a gorgeous crumb. I was generous in my shake of Cayenne -- it wasn't spicy at all. I also added cooked fresh corn off the cob. Next time I'll add one more T of honey.