I’ve fallen hard for this berrylicious blueberry cornbread, it’s moist and tender, with juicy berries exploding in every bite. Serve it with chilis, chowders, and stews, or as a rustic breakfast cake.
Who doesn’t love cornbread? It’s probably one of the first baking projects any new cook learns to master, and still to this day I’m always amazed at how such a little bit of effort results in such a yummy bread. And the basic recipe can be reinvented in countless ways, this blueberry cornbread is just my latest genius interpretation of everybody’s favorite quick bread.
Banish the thought of dry cornbreads that stick at the back of your throat and make you cough. The best recipes (like this one!) aren’t dry at all: mine gets its tender crumb from buttermilk and my secret ingredient…oat flour! Oat flour gives this blueberry cornbread its to-die-for texture. PS If you don’t have oat flour you can make your own by grinding rolled oats into a fine powder.
Because cornbread is so forgiving it makes a perfect base from which to branch out and explore recipe varieties. I’ve made cornbreads with zucchini, kale, and Hatch chiles that have become staples, they seem to add that perfect little bit of carby-ness to light summer meals. and complement all my fall soups, stews, and chilis. My favorite is my Pumpkin Cornbread ~ it goes with everything.
Blueberry cornbread has the added benefit of juicy berries to liven it up. It’s the first time I’ve experimented with a fruit and I absolutely love it. It’s a true hybrid recipe, not too sweet to serve with a meal, but can also work at breakfast with a cup of coffee. Pretty sweet!
This cornbread recipe is moist and tender to begin with, but add in those juicy blueberries and it’s over the top delish. I highly recommend this recipe, it’s one of those twists that makes me wonder why I haven’t been doing it this way all along!
Kitchen tool spotlight: spring form pan
A non stick spring form pan isn’t just for cheesecake, in fact I love to use it for all kinds of cakes, like my Strawberry Buttermilk Cake, and cornbreads, too. The pan makes it possible to remove the cake or bread easily for serving and slicing. Even delicate bakes come out perfect every time.
Blueberry Cornbread
Equipment
- 9 inch round springform pan or regular cake pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Butter a 9 inch spring form pan.
- Whisk the butter and sugar together until there are no lumps. Then whisk in the eggs, one at a time, and then the buttermilk.
- Stir in the baking soda, salt, flours, and cornmeal, stirring just until combined. Fold in the berries.
- Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. You can pop a few extra blueberries into the top of the batter if you like.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the cornbread is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without any wet batter clinging to it. You might have a few cracks on top and the edges will just be pulling away from the sides of the pan slightly. Cool on a rack for about 15 minutes before releasing the sides of the spring form pan.
Does anything in the recipe need to change for high altitude? I haven’t tried it yet but would like to know before I try it. Thanks!
Here are some tips from the Wheat Montana Bakery:
Oven Temperature
Increase by 15-25 degrees
Since at higher altitudes evaporation happens faster, you’ll need to help your baked goods set up a bit faster in the oven by raising the temperature.
Baking Time
Decrease by 20-30%
This is to compensate for the increased oven temperature you’ll need at higher altitudes. A higher temp means a faster cook, so be careful not to overdo it.
Flour
Increase by 1 tbsp at 3,500 ft, and by 1 tbsp per 1,500 ft
Adding flour helps to steady the rise of your baked goods and add structure to them as they grow in the oven.
Sugar
Decrease by 1 tbsp per cup
Since liquids evaporate faster at higher elevations, the concentration of sugar goes up. Be sure to reduce to keep your cakes, brownies, and cookies from collapsing.
Liquids
Increase by 1 to 2 tbsp per 1,000 ft, and 1 ½ tsp per additional 1,000 ft
It’s all about compensating for faster evaporation here — keep things from drying out and crisping up before they rise by adding a bit more liquid, whether it’s water, milk, oil, or eggs.
Baking Powder/Soda
Decrease by 20% above 3,500 ft, by 50% above 5,000 ft, and by 75% above 6,500 ft
Reducing the amount of your leavening agents will help your baked goods to rise more gradually at higher elevations.
I do not have oat flour…can I use all purpose?
Yes, you can!
I don’t understand the measurements in this recipe. For example what is 0.05 cup brown sugar packed in American measurements?
There is a sliding scale that allows you to change the amount of ingredients for a larger or smaller yield, and that can be confusing. I’ve disabled it for now.
Is the oat flour just oatmeal ground in a blender?
Yes, you can make your own that way, for sure. Use regular or quick cooking rolled oats.
Can you make these as muffins?
Sure, that would work fine, just be careful not to over-bake 🙂
Could you prepare this in a cast iron pan. I don’t have a springform pan. Thanks for the carb count!
Yes, you sure can, I’ve made lots of my cornbread recipes that way.
I’m going to try this. I appreciate your carb count as I am insulin dependent and rely it. Happy I found your blog. Everything looks so good.
Be sure you check the carb count with a calculator you trust, Mary, I’m finding I get differing results depending on which one I use, and you will have differing results depending on the exact ingredients you use. Hope you enjoy it 🙂
Curious about the Sugar, and Carb content. LOL I know, It’s going to be HIGH, just need to know. I’m going to make it with Cranberries!
I just added that for you Nancy. I can’t wait to try it with fresh cranberries!
That honey drizzle is everything! With the bursting blueberries, this is my dream cornbread!
What honey drizzle are you talking about, please? There isn’t one shown, nor are ingredients for one listed. Thanks!
You can serve this cornbread with a simple drizzle of honey if you like.