Reader Nancy Halpern of Santa Monica and her husband were on an East Coast road trip last summer when they happened upon Zynodoa Restaurant in the old Southern town of Staunton, Va.
"We enjoyed the most fabulous, unusually moist cornbread served in an iron pan with a caramelized glaze. It became our dessert," she writes. "I've been searching for the perfect cornbread and this was it!"
Lightly sweet and with a delicate crumb, the cornbread at Zynodoa is served piping hot in a cast iron skillet, the mounded bread topped with melted butter and a thin crust of caramelized sugar. The restaurant serves the bread with whipped honey butter and local Concord grape jam, but it could just as easily be served with a scoop of ice cream for dessert, or a side of bacon if you're thinking breakfast.
Nancy, Zynodoa was happy to share the recipe so you can have a sweet taste of the South right here at home. Enjoy.
We adapted the recipe to fit a standard skillet, with enough to serve a family any time of day.
