Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories (A Definitive Guide to Southern Baking) by Anne Byrn

  • Nina Cain's batty cakes with lacy edges (page 9)

    from Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories (A Definitive Guide to Southern Baking) Baking in the American South by Anne Byrn

    • Categories: Pancakes, waffles & crêpes; Breakfast / brunch; Main course; American South; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: fine white cornmeal; buttermilk; eggs
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Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Nina Cain's batty cakes with lacy edges

    • rmardel on January 18, 2026

      These are utterly fabulous! They are light and delicate and full of rich corn flavor. I love the way the baking soda and buttermilk makes the batter light and bubbly, which yields a very delicate, lacy, flavorful cake. My grandfather would have eaten them with sorghum, but I also think they are addictive plain.

  • Rona Roberts's brown butter Kentucky cornbread

    • ljl1989 on January 05, 2026

      Very good! Crust managed to get crisp while keeping a very moist interior. The only tricky bit - the timing on the browned butter is tight - you have to brown butter in a cast iron pan and pour out most (but not all) of it, then wait a few minutes before pouring batter into the pan while you finish mixing the batter. Butter will keep browning in a cast iron even if you take it off the heat, so you really need to brown on the lighter side to avoid burning the butter left in the pan.

  • Dairy Hollow House cornbread

    • pattyatbryce on May 17, 2026

      Look, it's cornbread, of course it will be eaten, but this one isn't my definition of a great cornbread. Too sweet and cake-like for my taste.

  • Jimmy Red cornbread bites

    • kristin_608wve on March 13, 2026

      Very hearty flavor. Left out the cayenne because of my son. Enjoyed these. They made 24 mini muffins and 6 regular ones.

  • Minnie Pearl's corn light bread

    • lkgrover on March 03, 2025

      I used medium-ground white cornmeal (because I couldn't find fine ground in this northern state). Delicious; a great accompaniment to a Louisiana stew.

  • Stella Parks's light and fluffy biscuits

    • als102 on July 31, 2025

      These were so easy and so cute - I made a half batch in my mini cast iron to go along with fried chicken. So good!

    • ljl1989 on February 25, 2026

      Exceptional! Light and flaky with a golden exterior. A great go-to biscuit.

  • Old-fashioned strawberry shortcake

    • ljl1989 on June 10, 2025

      Absolutely perfect - wouldn't change a thing and this will be my go-to shortcake recipe from now on. The shortcakes are very moist and just lightly sweet. So delicious.

  • Martha Nesbit's blueberry muffins

  • Bebe's banana bread

    • hmckimmey on January 16, 2026

      I wasn’t sure about this one since it has no spices at all in it, but it was really good and the bake time was accurate.

    • steak_vrhrmx on January 23, 2026

      Soupy

    • ljl1989 on April 03, 2026

      Delicious! This is a more refined, cake-like banana bread - sweet, fine crumb, no mix-ins. The batter is pretty moist but if you cook it the full bake time and test it, it should come out perfectly.

  • Edna Lewis's sourdough pancakes

    • als102 on August 03, 2025

      I substituted the starter recipe for an equal weight of my own sourdough starter. These turned out really freaking good!! Probably my go-to sourdough pancakes from now on. I also served these with a dollop of creme fraiche and stewed blueberries.

  • Ewing Steele's Alabama orange rolls

    • lisa_r9z5a0 on March 04, 2026

      This recipe appears on page 163 not 167.

  • Belvidere rice pudding

    • als102 on August 19, 2025

      This threw me off with so much volume of liquid to rice (4 cups milk, 1/3 cup rice) but it turned out really good. Next time I might get the liquid simmering and THEN add the rice and start the timer because it was a little soupy at the end, but the flavor is honestly to die for. I served this with Paul Prudhomme's chantilly cream.

  • Pontchatoula strawberry icebox pie

    • Coopskitchen on May 08, 2026

      I wanted this to turn out so good but mine didn’t set for some reason. It still tasted delicious though. The crust could definitely be doubled and I had to add more cornstarch.

  • Betty Kennedy's black bottom pie

    • als102 on August 04, 2025

      I LOVE this pie. I made it for my own birthday this year. I can't even express in words the flavor combo, you just have to make it.

    • MollyB on March 26, 2026

      This pie is great! My husband made it for me for my birthday, and everyone loved it. I rarely have seconds on dessert, but I went back for more on this one. I was a little worried when I tasted some excess filling straight (I'd recommend a deep pie dish if you have one), and it seemed very booze-forward. But after sitting overnight (as recommended) and blending with the other flavors, it was well-balanced and very easy to eat.

  • Nellie McGowan's cream cheese pound cake

    • als102 on April 16, 2026

      This is really good but definitely missing some balance from salt. Next time I'll try adding a teaspoon of Diamond Crystal.

  • Memphis chocolate pound cake

    • Sam4bama on January 13, 2026

      Very good chocolate cake. Fluffier than a traditional pound cake and very chocolaty. It only took about 75 minutes in my oven.

    • Carriejean76 on February 22, 2026

      Good chocolate pound cake.

  • Chocolate marble cake

    • lkgrover on March 24, 2025

      Excellent, very chocolate marble cake, which I baked in a Bundt pan. I used 2.5 oz 85% dark chocolate, and 1.5 oz 70% dark chocolate. Did not make a glaze/icing.

  • Buttermilk cupcakes with fudge icing

    • Kimadcock on January 31, 2026

      this is page 386

  • Crescent tea cookies

    • ljl1989 on January 05, 2026

      These are the perfect crescent cookie - I'll never need another recipe. Followed it to a tee (including using White Lily flour) and i wouldn't change a thing. Tender-crisp, perfectly balanced, buttery pecan treats.

  • My Mother's chess cake

    • als102 on August 04, 2025

      This is so good! I served it with homemade vanilla ice cream. Reminds me a lot of a gooey butter cake texture.

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  • ISBN 10 0785291334
  • ISBN 13 9780785291336
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Sep 03 2024
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 512
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Harper Celebrate

Publishers Text

Witness the rise of Southern baking from the humble, make-do recipes of our ancestors to its place as one of the world's richest culinary traditions through this essential cookbook from bestselling author Anne Byrn. With 200 recipes and more than 150 photos from 14 states, Baking in the American South has the biscuits, cornbread, cakes, and rolls that will help you bake like a Southerner, even if you aren't.

Recipes can tell you volumes if you pay attention—the crops raised, languages spoken, family customs, old world flavors, and, often, religion. Did you know that where a mill was located affected the recipes handed down from that area? Or that baking and selling pound cakes directly impacted the Civil Rights Movement? These stories and recipes, developed from good times and bad, have been collected and perfected over years and are now accessible to us all. Anne's expertise in assessing, modernizing, and developing well-written recipes makes this the definitive guide for bakers of all levels.

From-scratch, Southern classic recipes include:

Thomasville Cheese Biscuits Ouita Michel's Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins Nina Cain's Batty Cakes with Lacy Edges The Best Lemon Meringue Pie Georgia Gilmore's Pound Cake

This fascinating dive into the history of 14 southern states—Texas, Florida, Kentucky, and more—features stories and beautifully photographed recipes from pre-Civil War times to today's Southern kitchens. It's about the places, the people, the products and the culture of the moment that influenced what people baked. It's about African-American women and the monumental contributions they have made to the art of Southern baking, about home cooks and how they've kept traditions alive wherever they settle by baking family recipes each year for holidays and celebrations, and about the pastry chefs who have thoughtfully reimagined how the South bakes.

Experience the recipes and the stories behind them that showcase the substantial contributions Southern baking has made to American baking at large. Food historians, bakers, foodies, and cookbook collectors from every corner of the country will want this cookbook in their collections.

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