Pancakes are the perfect Saturday morning breakfast, right? The batter is forgiving, and you can make a whole lot really fast. Plus, any breakfast that takes a swim in maple syrup has to be good. So, we tried to mix it up with this recipe for Blueberry Corn Cakes.

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My Family’s History in Pancakes

Usually when we make pancakes, we use my dad’s recipe. We lovingly refer to them as GLCM Jacks. GLCM stands for Ground Launch Cruise Missiles, which was what they were there to work with. The assignment was at Comiso Air Force Base, but GLCM (pronounced Glick-Um) has stuck.

Dad’s pancakes are named for this assignment because he got the recipe from the base chaplain, while on that assignment. The way my dad tells it, the pancakes the chaplain made were so good that they didn’t even need syrup. Even though he has made them a couple thousand times, he always swears they were better in Italy.

Now, you have to understand that my dad’s pancakes are the best I have ever tasted. They’re pillowy and fluffy. On their own, they’re perfectly sweet, but they also pair perfectly with sage-heavy breakfast sausage and coffee. Ooooh, I love those pancakes!

Trying Something New: Blueberry Corn Cakes

Understandably, the morning I got up and started making blueberry cornbread pancakes, my husband thought I had completely lost my mind. Why bother making any other kind of pancake? I didn’t really have much of a reason, just a desire to experiment. These still don’t beat Dad’s GLCM jacks…

BUT

These are a completely different kind of wonderful. The blueberries are juicy and pop when you bite into them. The corn meal adds body, texture, and sweetness. The syrup soaks in to all the pockets for a hearty breakfast perfect for a cool morning.

Making Blueberry Corn Cakes

The recipe comes from The New York Times and is easy enough to make or modify. I did go by the weights instead of cup/spoon measurements for the dry ingredients because my husband got me a nifty little kitchen scale for my birthday.

Choosing the Corn Meal

Since we have two different kinds of cornmeal in the pantry, I did half and half. White corn meal is ground finer, and yellow is a little coarser. It worked very nicely for the texture. If you have one or the other, it will turn out great to just use that. Don’t go buying extra cornmeal.

Honestly, if you don’t have any corn meal, and you just don’t want to get any, you can either add another 1/2 cup of flour, or grind up oatmeal to get 1/2 cup of ground oats for texture.

Skillet Prep: Oil or No Oil

Also, the original recipe says to use oil for your skillet. I use an electric griddle with a nonstick surface, and I’ve never had to lay down oil before cooking pancakes. I prefer the way the cakes cook without oil. If the fried crust on a pancake is your favorite thing, though, go for it!

If you do choose to use oil, I’d either do vegetable oil or ghee. The milk fat in the butter will burn on the pan by the time you get to your last cakes. Ghee is clarified butter without the milk solids. This gives it a higher smoke point.

Using a good electric skillet is great because you don’t need to oil it, but another option is a classic cast iron. In this case, yes, you will need to lay down a bit of fat to prevent sticking.

Blueberries: Fresh or Frozen?

I used frozen blueberries and let them sit out to thaw as I was making the batter. When I added them in, they were still a little bit frozen. They turned out really good that way, but I’m sure that fresh blueberries, or even thawed, would work just as well.

Since I’m personally horrible at just sticking to a recipe without making my own changes, I assume you might be the same way. In that case, if you want to try a different kind of fruit or add-in, here are some alternatives that will work:

Raspberries or blackberries, quartered
Diced apples
Diced peaches
Diced bananas
Chocolate chips
Toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts
Drained, chopped green chiles (for the really adventurous)

How to Make Your Own Buttermilk

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have buttermilk. You could go out and buy some, but if you don’t want it to go to waste, you can make your own. There are a couple different ways I have done this in the past with good results.

The first is to add one tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice, to a one cup measuring cup. Then pour in the milk of your choice to fill the cup the rest of the way. I’ve successfully done this with skim, 2%, and whole milk as well as unsweetened almond milk.

The second option is to add 1/3 cup of plain yogurt (regular or Greek) to a 1 cup measuring cup and mix with 2/3 cup of milk. Again, it has worked with every milk type I’ve used. I have only used dairy yogurt, though.

The Best Way to Serve Up a Pile of Blueberry Corn Cakes

Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with a tall stack of blueberry corn cakes in all their golden glory. If you’re feeding a crowd, though, you might want some sides to go with them.

Some of my favorites are sagey, spicy breakfast sausage. I’m a really big fan of Jones’ Chicken Sausages. It’s the one non-pork sausage that has ever actually passed our stringent taste tests. Morningstar also makes a good meat-free option that I love.

I usually make up scrambled eggs any time we make pancakes, as well. They’re a good source of protein. What you may not know is that they’re actually pretty good with a hint of maple syrup.

Fruit salad, mixed greens with balsamic dressing, or sliced tomatoes will round out your brunch table with a bit of freshness. Sometimes a little bit of cool plant power is just the thing to brighten up a heavy brunch, even on the coolest of days.

Don’t forget drinks! I’m a coffee lover through and through, but no judgment if your menu includes Bloody Marys or Mimosas. Check out How to Drink on Youtube for some really interesting tips on making your favorite cocktails. I don’t have an affiliation; I’m just fascinated by his channel!

So, that’s pretty much all you need to know about Blueberry Corn Cakes and how to serve them up. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to Subscribe for weekly updates on blog posts!

Blueberry Corn Cakes

A twist on a breakfast staple, blueberry corn cakes combine the fresh pop of blueberries with the chewy, fine crumb of great corn bread for superb pancakes.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 10 pancakes

Equipment

Electric griddle
Medium mixing bowl
Small mixing bowl

Ingredients

192 g all-purpose flour ~1 1/2 cups
40 g white cornmeal ~1/4 cup
40 g yellow cornmeal ~1/4 cup
45 g pure cane sugar ~3 Tbsp
9 g baking soda ~1 1/2 tsp
6 g baking powder ~1 1/2 tsp
9 g pink Himalayan sea salt ~1 1/2 tsp
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp melted, unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups blueberries thawed from frozen or fresh

Instructions

Whisk together the flour, cornmeals, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.
Barely incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry, and then mix in the butter.
Stop folding the mixture together, leaving pockets of dry ingredients showing.
Add in the blueberries.
Fold four more times, again, leaving small pockets of dry ingredients visible.
Let the batter set 5 minutes as the griddle preheats to 400F.
Measure out 1/3 cup spoonfuls of batter onto the griddle. When bubbles stop coming to the surface and the edges look dry, they are ready to flip. You’re looking for a deep golden brown color. You can keep them warm between batches on a rack in the oven at the lowest possibly temperature.

Keyword Blueberry, Cornbread, Pancakes

Blueberry Corn Cakes are the Pancakes You Need this Winter!

My Family’s History in Pancakes

Trying Something New: Blueberry Corn Cakes