Blueberry Corncakes

Aren't we all trying to eat more whole grains...even if the end result is coated in maple syrup, butter, and served with a side of bacon or sausage? These pancakes fit the bill, made with whole grain cornmeal which is decidedly different than the typical soft-as-sand stuff that is the kitchen standard.

Real, coarse cornmeal and I have become friends lately. I love the chewiness it imparts, and the golden flecks that appear in all baked goods are evidence of it's whole grain goodness. I used Bob's Red Mill coarse grind cornmeal for this recipe, and in fact, got the inspiration for these pancakes right from the package. My favorite frozen blueberries from Trader Joe's add another dimension of superfoodiness to these cakes and I've decided that whole grains+blueberries somehow cancel out any negative effects of bacon....? I know, it's a complicated math equation that you may not be able to grasp.

For four servings:

• 1 cup boiling water
• 3/4 cup coarse grind cornmeal
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sifted White Whole Wheat Flour from King Arthur Flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, (I used Wild Boreal Blueberries, unthawed, from Trader Joe's)

Heat oven to 180 degrees. Pour boiling water over cornmeal in a large bowl and set aside for 15 minutes. Whisk in the buttermilk and eggs. Sift the flour, cardamom, baking powder, salt and baking soda over the bowl and stir until mixture is just combined. Melt the butter and stir into the batter. Mix in the blueberries.

Heat a nonstick pan or griddle over medium high heat. Now, here's where I went wrong with the first couple cakes. This batter is definitely delicate so the pancakes must be made smaller, no more than 4-5 inches in diamater or it will be quite tough flipping them. And, make sure that they are fully cooked on the inital side before flipping otherwise the result is a sloppy, broken mess of a cake.

Keep the pancakes warm in the oven as they are finished. I had leftover cakes and found that they were almost equally good the next day, quickly warmed in the microwave.