Cornbread muffins

Nailed it! Here's a quick and easy recipe for a very morish cornbread, delicious on its own, spread with butter and tomato chutney, as well as as a side, especially with a stew or any dish in sauce.

I like to use a combination of spices as described below, as I feel each of them participates to the wonderful flavour of the bread. But don't worry if you don't have them all at hand and have to skip one or two, and feel free to add any other spice or mix that you like and think will work well with the other ingredients in this recipe.

You can also integrate other ingredients such as fresh chili (chopped), cheese (grated) and/or sweetcorn kernels (one small tin, drained, or fresh sweetcorn). Just add them last, after all the other ingredients are already mixed together, and stir with a spoon to combine well.

Although this cornbread is a delight still slightly warm from the oven, it keeps very well over a few days and makes a perfect companion for picnics and packed lunches, especially in its muffin-shaped version.

Ingredients for 20-24 cornbread muffins

375g flour

225g cornmeal (polenta)

110g sugar

1 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder (1 pack)

480ml milk

2 eggs

110g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

1/2 tsp dry ginger powder

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp nigella seeds

Black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease and flour a muffin tray or a medium-size baking dish if you prefer a bread to share.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients together and mix using an electric mixer until you have the consistency of a sponge cake batter.

Pour into the prepared muffin tray or baking dish, and bake for about 30 minutes in the top of the oven (may vary a little depending on the size of the dish).

When the cornbread has a golden color, pierce with a knife or a skewer to make sure the batter is cooked through. Allow to cool slightly on a rack before serving.