Cornbread and Buttermilk Ice Cream

It is a old southern habit to mix your cornbread into a glass of thick creamy buttermilk.  I have always loved watching folks do this, but I never tried it.  I was not the biggest fan of buttermilk growing up.  I still have a bit of an aversion to the stuff plain, but I love what it adds to everything I use it in, like pancakes and biscuits.

One day, I was dreaming up southern ice cream flavors, and one I couldn't get out of my mind was Cornbread and Buttermilk Ice Cream!   

Yep!  I did it!  I went there! I also topped it with sorghum and cayenne.  So, you ask, how did it taste?

Well, It tasted great!  But, the texture of the cornbread was a bit of an issue for some people.  It was too much.  I thought it could have been a little soggier, but, this is how we learn! I have adjusted this recipe to make it better. 

So I started out with this Buttermilk Ice Cream base. 

Then I made my Momma's (really Granny's) Cornbread recipe.  In Momma's words:

Fry about 4 slices of bacon in a regular size iron skillet while preheating oven to 425 degrees.  Mix  a little less than 1 Cup of all-purpose flour, 1 full cup of good (stone ground if you can find it) yellow corn meal, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 egg and 1 cup (or more) of buttermilk.  Should be almost the consistency of cake batter.

 

When bacon is done, remove and eat. Pour bread batter into the hot bacon grease and put in the over for 20-30 minutes. 

 

If you already have bacon grease, put a couple of tablespoons of it into the iron skillet and put it in the oven to heat up with the oven.  Pour batter into the hot grease the same as above. 

  I have made this cornbread and realize that I really need closer to a cup and a half of buttermilk and I like my cornbread a little sweeter, so I generally add a bit of sugar, molasses, honey or sorghum.  Mom suggests adding jalapenos, or cheese, or cumin!  All delicious!

 

 

I poured the batter into the hot bacon grease!  This is how you make real cornbread!

 

Cornbread is done!  Mmmmmmm!
 

Ok, so back to the Ice Cream.  I put the bacon left over from making the cornbread in the ice cream before i chilled it.  I would not do that again! I would chop it up and use it as a topping.  

Also, I would add the crumbled cornbread to the ice cream custard, before chilling or freezing.  I added it to the ice cream after I froze it, thinking it would be good to retain the texture, but I think that was missing the point of the original concept.  

Another option would be to make the buttermilk Ice Cream and to serve a scoop on top of a hot sweet piece of cornbread.  

 

 

Buttermilk and Bacon

I added the cream, egg and sugar custard to the buttermilk and bacon. 

As I mentioned earlier, I topped the ice cream with a drizzle of sorghum, and a shake of cayenne.  

 

Since I made bacon and cornbread, it turned into an entire day of cooking.  I ended up fixing up some red beans and rice to go along with it all!!!!