Mini corn cakes with goat cheese and pepper jelly

An old-fashioned cast-iron skillet with shallow round indentations is ideal for making uniform corn cakes. Since these pans can be rather hard to find, you can use a regular cast-iron skillet and achieve equally lovely results. Pepper jelly adds a bit of sweetness and subtle heat. Look for it at farmer’s markets and in gourmet shops.

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/ 2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1 /4 cups milk

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 / 3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pan

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 15 1 / 4 -ounce can corn kernels, drained

8 ounces fresh goat cheese, thinly sliced

1 cup pepper jelly

• Whisk together the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, oil, and butter until smooth and combined. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, and stir just until the batter is combined; fold in corn kernels.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, and rub it with enough oil to coat the surface. Drop batter by the tablespoon to make 2-inch cakes. Cook until undersides are golden brown, 45 to 60 seconds; turn over, and continue cooking until other sides are browned and cakes are heated through, about 1 minute. To serve, top each cake with a slice of goat cheese and a dollop of pepper jelly.

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