Meet our new food writer – Lizzie Crow is a familiar face at just about every food event in the county, better known to most as Lizzie Baking Bird. From her tiny bakery in west Dorset, Lizzie creates an impressive range of sweet and savoury bakes, which you’ll find at Poundbury and Wimborne Farmers’ Markets, Bridport Market, and across the county’s food festivals and agricultural shows. Passionate about supporting local producers, she sources ingredients as close to home as possible. A member of the Guild of Food Writers, Lizzie has won numerous Great Taste Awards for her exceptional bakes.
Find her on lizziebakingbird.co.uk
The sweet and earthy flavour of canned pumpkin puree is added to traditional American cornbread. This is a delicious quick ‘bread’ you can serve with a strong tasty cheddar (try openairdairy.co.uk) or alternatively make a delicious honey butter (I can recommend meggymoosdairy.co.uk and filbertsofdorset.co.uk) to slather on, straight from the oven.’ – Lizzie
Ingredients
- 160g polenta
- 120g plain flour
- 70g soft light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 250g pumpkin puree
- 100g sour cream
- 50g butter, melted
- 2 eggs
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200º fan/gas 6.
- Line a 23cm/9” square baking tin with parchment or greaseproof paper.
- In a large mixing bowl add the dry ingredients and stir.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, cream, butter and eggs.
- Tip the wet mix onto the flour mix and stir until just combined.
- Spread it in the baking tin and cook for 20 minutes or so: the bread will be risen, firm to the touch and a skewer will come out clean.
- Leave to cool, then cut into slices and enjoy it spread with honey butter (75g softened butter and 1 tbsp honey, plus a pinch of cinnamon).
- Stays fresh, if stored airtight, for up to three days.
