Jalapeno-Cheddar Corn Bread
Embellishing a recipe as iconic as corn bread could be a disaster of New Coke magnitude, so when a friend suggested dolling up the recipe with jalapeños and cheddar cheese, I proceeded with caution. I have issues with vegan cheese—it’s often overprocessed, packed with preservatives, and usually gross—but Emily, my office Queen Bee and resident persnickety vegan, suggested Follow Your Heart’s cheddar and made me a convert. I found nary a gluten globule or preservative in sight, and it melted! My mind adequately blown, I got to work in the kitchen, and a new bakery regular emerged. The cheese has the perfect creamy texture to complement the corn bread’s slightly grainy quality, and its sweetness is offset by the heat of the jalapeños. Bring this along to your next barbecue, but be sure to make extra: Those non-vegan eat-everything sorts tend to devour an unfair share.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 10 slices
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 7 × 4 × 3-inch loaf pan with oil.
Step 2
Pour the rice milk and apple cider vinegar into a small bowl, but do not stir; set aside to develop into “buttermilk.” In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir the batter until fully combined. Pour in the “buttermilk” and mix gently until the ingredients are fully incorporated and a slightly grainy batter is formed. Using a plastic spatula, fold in the jalapeños and cheese until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Step 3
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the corn bread on the center rack for 40 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 20 minutes. The finished corn bread will bounce back slightly when pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.
Step 4
Let the corn bread stand in the pan for 20 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edge of the bread. Cover the top of the pan with a cutting board, and invert the loaf onto the board. Carefully lift the pan away and re-invert the corn bread onto another cutting board. Either cut and serve warm, or wait until it is completely cool before storing. Cover the uncut corn bread with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
