Cornmeal Cakes with Cherry Compote
Cherry compote:
- 1 pound Bing cherries
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ cup water
- â…“ cup honey
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 cup fine stone-ground cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons honey, plus more for serving
- 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the griddle and for serving
- ¾ cup boiling water
- ¾ cup gluten-free all-purpose or white
- whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons natural cane sugar
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions:
If you don’t eat gluten, whether because of allergies or other reasons, you can use gluten-free flour in this recipe, but white whole wheat flour works great too.
- To make the compote, using a paring knife or a cherry pitter, remove the pits from the cherries. Cut the cherries into quarters and put the pieces in a small saucepan. Add the thyme and the water and warm the cherries over medium heat, stirring every so often until they just barely start to break down, about 3 minutes. Stir in the honey and salt, turn off the heat, and set aside. It can be rewarmed after you prepare your pancakes.
- To make the pancakes, put the cornmeal, honey, and butter in a large mixing bowl. Pour the boiling water over the cornmeal mixture and stir. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and allow it to sit for 5 minutes to soften the cornmeal.
- In another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar together. Add the buttermilk and egg to the softened cornmeal mixture and stir to mix completely. Add in the dry ingredients and stir.
- Heat your griddle or cast-iron pan over medium heat and rub a bit of butter on the surface. Pour a scant ¼ cup of the batter onto the griddle, leaving it plenty of space to spread (the batter is pretty thin). Once you start to see little bubbles on the surface, flip the pancake over and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.
- You may keep the pancakes warm in a 200°F oven while you finish the batch, or serve immediately with a scoop of the warm cherry compote. Drizzle with a bit of butter and honey to taste.