Cheesy breakfast sweet corn loaf
Is your dad a sweet guy or a savoury type? If you’re planning to make a fuss of him on Father's Day, that’s a detail you really need to nail down. No point making him sweet pancakes for breakfast if he’d prefer a cheesy, corn-y quick bread, loaded with roasted tomatoes, avo, a few leaves and whatever else he likes. A fried egg? Yep, heave one of those on too. A few rashers of bacon? They’d be excellent as well.
There are a few ingredients involved in this recipe, but at the end of the day it’s one of those bakes made by simply stirring everything together, so it’s pretty straightforward. And, because you toast it, you can even make your loaf one or two days in advance, then concentrate on all the add-ons on the day.
MAKES 1 x LARGE LOAF
225g (1½ cups) plain flour
180g (1 cup) instant polenta
1 tbsp baking powder
1½ tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
260g (1 cup) Greek yoghurt
250g (1 cup) canned creamed corn
2 large eggs, beaten
115g butter, melted
125g (1¼ cups) grated tasty cheddar
1 x 420g can corn kernels, drained well
100g (1 cup) grated parmesan
rocket, extra virgin olive oil, and chopped avocado, to serve
Roast tomatoes
4-5 large ripe tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
1½ tsp caster sugar
4 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
Preheat the oven to 175˚C, fan-forced. Grease and flour the sides of a 24 x 13 x 7cm loaf tin, then line the base with baking paper.
Combine the flour, polenta, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then whisk to combine well.
Combine the yoghurt, creamed corn and eggs in a bowl and whisk to combine well. Stir in the melted butter, cheddar cheese and half the corn kernels. Add to the flour mixture in the bowl, then stir to mix well. Pour into the prepared tin, smoothing the top even. Scatter over the remaining corn kernels and the parmesan. Bake for 70 minutes, or until a cake tester withdraws clean, covering the top with foil if it browns too quickly. Cool the loaf in the tin for 30 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, for the roast tomatoes, preheat the oven to 175˚C. Cut the tomatoes into wedges (about 6 per tomato), and place them in a roasting dish in a single layer. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and vinegar, then scatter with the sugar and thyme, if using. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then bake for about 50 minutes or until slightly charred around the edges. (Note, if you are serving the loaf on the same day you make it, you can pop these into the oven while the loaf bakes)
To serve, slice the loaf into generous slices, then either serve as-is, or toast or char (on a char grill plate) until golden. Serve topped with the roast tomatoes, avocado slices and some rocket leaves, drizzled with olive oil.
