New England Spider Cake

Name: New England Spider Cake
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: new england
Ingredients: 2 cups milk; 4 teaspoons white vinegar; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal; 3/4 cup sugar; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 eggs; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 cup heavy cream

By Jonathan Reynolds

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 5(85)
Comments: Read comments

This is a creamy, corny skillet preparation from New England, which has delighted roomfuls of people every time I've served it. So-called because of the veins created by the cream in its vortex, which separates the crumb during baking, this substantial one-skillet meal will get your kids to school happier than they've ever been, and you happy only if they've left some behind. As my recipe tester, Alice Thompson, responded: ''Spider cake rules! How has this escaped the culinary radar so far? Where has it been all my life?''

Featured in: FOOD; Wake-Up Call

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

2cups milk
4teaspoons white vinegar
1cup all-purpose flour
¾cup yellow cornmeal
¾cup sugar
½teaspoon baking soda
½teaspoon salt
2eggs
2tablespoons butter
1cup heavy cream

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside to sour. In another bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda and salt. Whisk eggs into the soured milk. Stir into dry ingredients and set batter aside.
Step 2
Melt butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Pour in the batter. Pour cream into the center, slide skillet into the oven and bake until golden brown on top, about 45 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve warm.

Ratings

5 out of 5

85 user ratings

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Comments

kiki la porta7 years ago

This is all the rage in our house. don't be misled by somewhat jiggly-appearing custard center... it's probably cooked! too long in the oven is dry. Also... another note on the derivation of the name: the New England footed kettle that went into or above the fire...round kettle, feet sticking out, is that a spider-starter? name aside, make this cake, even for dessert with fruit, ice cream or liqueur.

Megan5 years ago

Delicious! We like to eat it with a side of blackberry coulis.

Peter6 years ago

I love how easily this cake comes together, perfect for those hungry brunch mornings when you just want something delicious without too much work. The cake is deliciously sweet even without any maple. I used a glass pie dish instead of cast-iron, so for this I would recommend simply generously covering the pie dish with room-temperature butter instead of melting it first; I found that the liquid butter rose to the top as batter was poured in.

e. f.6 months ago

Made as written. I melted the butter in the cast iron pan in the oven as it was preheating. Served warm with maple syrup. Delicious. A nice alternative to pancakes.

Hallie6 months ago

I mix a banana into the wet ingredients when I make this. It makes the cake more custardy and gives extra depth. It's delicious

Spider Joe7 months ago

I accidentally put in two cups of flour while keeping everything else the same. The batter was very thick, but I tell you what, that came out more cornbready than cakey, but it was quite delicious! Well, I don't think I'll do that every time, when I want to have a more substantial breakfast I will double the flour.

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