Sweet Vegan Cornbread

Today's recipe can be found in its original form at: http://www.kosherblog.net/2005/03/09/blue_ribbon_vegan_cornbread/. (Please excuse the picture. I'm not by any stretch a photographer. I only had my phone on me and I took it at night. Enough excuses; on to the food!)

I promised you guys that I would share a vegan cornbread recipe that I found with you guys, and today is the day that I do just that. Now anyone who has ever eaten cornbread can tell you that there are so many different kinds, and some people only swear by their favorite type. I am of the thought that great cornbread is great cornbread, no matter its sweetness or region of origin.

This particular recipe makes a delicious light, fluffy, and sweet cornbread. It actually pretty hard to tell that it is vegan. The trick to this recipe is the boiling of the ground flaxseed until it thickens. This, along with the baking powder, ensure that it rises properly.

I prefer a sweeter cornbread, so I used a half a cup of turbinado sugar instead of a quarter cup of granulated sugar. It turned out with the perfect amount of sweetness. I ground up the turbinado sugar (right after I ground up my flax seeds) in my Ninja just to take away that grainy quality that it can sometimes have. Also, instead of soy milk that is used in the original recipe, I swapped it out for hemp milk. You can use whatever non-dairy milk you have on hand. Take into account whether your milk is sweetened or unsweetened when adjusting your sugar. My hemp milk was lightly sweetened, and my adjustment worked well for us.

Due to the fact that most of the ingredients you probably already have in your house, and most of them are found on the same aisle, I won't include the shopping list by department.

Recipe

• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 6 Tbsp. water
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. cornmeal
• 1/2 c. sugar, granulated or turbinado
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. table salt
• 1 c. non dairy milk
• 1/4 c. canola oil

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. I used a 7"x11" brownie pan, but you could use an 8"x8" square pan.
2. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the ground flax seed, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the ground flax seed in the water for 3 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well-combined.
4. Add the ground flax seed mixture, non dairy milk, and canola oil to the flour mixture. Beat just until smooth (do not overbeat.) *Because I added an extra 1/4 of sugar, I had to add another splash of milk to make the mixture smooth. If you find yourself in a similar situation, just add the milk a teaspoon at a time until the texture is just right.
5. Turn into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes; invert cornbread onto wire rack, then turn right side up and continue to cool until warm, about 10 minutes longer. Cut into pieces and serve.

I hope you guys enjoy this as much as we did. I am contemplating doing a southern cast iron skillet version. I'll let you know how it turns out.