I was watching Chef Emeril Lagasse on The Martha Stewart’s Show and he had my mouth watering when he made a corn cake, similar to a polenta cake, often made in restaurants as a side dish, topped with stewed cherries. I was determined to make my own gluten free version, but healthier. I made it with blueberries; without refined sugar, but sweetened it with applesauce and a tiny bit of agave syrup; used one less egg and added applesauce instead of sugar and lemon zest, making it like a bread pudding. Since I am allergic to citrus I couldn’t use the lemon juices in the sauce, but added pineapple juice instead. Emeril baked his cake in a cast iron skillet, but I used a regular baking pan instead. One of the other products that Namaste Foods sent me to sample was their Perfect Flour Blend. I used that in this recipe as an all-purpose flour. This recipe came out so delicious! It tastes like an apple bread pudding. I had just eaten dinner and was not ready for dessert, but wanted to take a photo of it and taste it before I published the recipe, but I couldn’t stop after one bite. Luckily I cut it in half! I hope you like it.
Gluten Free Apple Corn Pudding
Wet ingredients
- 3-4 chunks of pineapple from a can, chopped well in food processor or by hand
- 2/3 cup milk or milk substitute (I used raw almond milk)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 Tablespoons agave syrup
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup Namaste Perfect Flour Blend
- 6 Tablespoons yellow corn meal
- 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Blueberry Topping
- 1 cup frozen fresh blueberries
- 2 Tablespoons agave syrup (I used amber)
- 2 Tablespoons pineapple, lemon or orange juice
Instructions
- In a pan add blueberries, lemon juice and agave; stir.(you can add a gluten free liquor, too if you wish.)
- Cook on low for about 1 to 1.5 hours.
- The last few minutes turn the heat to medium-high and allow the sauce to reduce (thicken).
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls and combine.
- Oil an 8×8” baking pan.
- Pour batter into pan and bake for approximately 40 – 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for about 5 minutes or more. (longer doesn’t hurt, as it comes out of the pan easily either way.)
- Slice in squares or rectangles and layer with blueberry sauce. So yummy!
I am sure you can make a gluten free version of Emeril’s recipe, too, using his suggested ingredients and replacing with gluten free all-purpose flour. You can find Emeril’s original recipe and the video segment of the show at:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/skillet-corn-cake-with-stewed-cherries
