Sweet Cornbread Blackberry Shortcake

Lately, the TV show that we’ve been a tad obsessed with in this household has been MasterChef. I’m usually not a fan of cooking competition shows, but this one has my attention.

I think it’s mostly because the contestants are all “home cooks” – so just like me. But, the skill level of some of them really blows me away – are they really just “home cooks?”  Because as simple as it sounds, there is no way I would be able to bake a perfect apple pie or molten lava cake from scratch, without a recipe.

A challenge from a recent episode was to make a dessert from a traditionally savory ingredient: corn.

One example that the judges featured was a strawberry cornbread shortcake. When I saw it, I knew I needed to try my hand out at that dessert. And since we’re in the middle of blackberry season here in Georgia, I knew that blackberries would be my fruit of choice, instead of strawberries.

What resulted was a fun take on the traditional shortcake dessert, and definitely Southern with the cornbread component.

Sweet Cornbread Blackberry Shortcake (8 Servings) – adapted from MyRecipes.com
Sauce:
1 cup blackberries, chopped into small pieces
juice from 1/2 lemon
zest from 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Topping:
2 cups blackberries
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Whipped cream

Cornbread:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow or white cornmeal
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup 2% low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg
Cooking spray

Let’s Bake:
To prepare sauce: combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce to low heat and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool.

To prepare topping: combine blackberries and browns sugar, toss to coat. Then cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

To prepare corn bread: Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add buttermilk, butter, oil, and egg; stir with a whisk until well combined.

Pour batter into a bread 5″ x 10″ baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until corn bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan.  Cut corn bread into 8 slices and place on serving plates. Top each slice with about 1 tablespoon of the sauce, and 1/4 cup of the blackberry topping. Serve immediately with whipped cream.