This is the recipe P3 makes when it’s her turn to cook, which tells you everything: one bowl, no mixer, nothing sharp, and a result the whole table scores higher than most restaurants. The skillet goes into the oven while it preheats — the sizzle when the batter hits is the secret to the crust, and also P3’s favorite part.
What you need
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 eggs
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- ⅓ cup melted butter, plus 1 tablespoon for the skillet
- Honey, for the top (not optional in this house)
How P3 makes it
- Put a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven and heat both to 425°F.
- Whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in one big bowl.
- Make a crater. Crack in the eggs, pour in the buttermilk and melted butter, and whisk from the middle out until just combined. Lumps are fine. Lumps are traditional.
- Carefully (grown-up job) pull the hot skillet out, swirl in the last tablespoon of butter, and pour in the batter. Listen for the sizzle.
- Bake 18–22 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Honey on top while it’s hot. Serve straight from the skillet on a folded towel in the middle of the table.
Family notes
“You have to hear the sizzle when it goes in. That’s the whole point.” — P3, head chef
Freezes beautifully: cut wedges, wrap, and freeze up to two months. Ten seconds in the microwave and P4 will eat it for breakfast. We have tested this more times than we planned to.