Slightly sweet and nutty from the addition of grits, these breakfast gems are essentially fluffy cornbread muffins baked from a recipe from Mount Vernon, home of George Washington.
I need to preface this post and recipe with the fact that George and Martha Washington, the first president of the United States and his wife, were in fact enslavers of people. When Washington died in 1799, he owned 123 enslaved people outright. He stipulated in his will that they were to be freed following the death of his wife, Martha.
The majority of the enslaved population at the estate—153 people at the time of his death—were so-called "dower slaves." These individuals belonged to the estate of Martha's first husband, Daniel Parke Custis. Because Washington did not legally own them, he had no legal authority to free them in his will.
I’ve never been to Mount Vernon but many of the facilities you can tour do seem show the enormous backbreaking work of those people, who made it possible for the plantation to function and be profitable. This includes the kitchen.
According to the website, “George and Martha Washington welcomed thousands of guests to Mount Vernon and were well known for their boundless hospitality, frequent and memorable parties, and the wide variety of culinary treats served.
This was only possible because of the work of enslaved butlers, housemaids, waiters, cooks, and others.”
Whether or not George Washington actually ate breakfast gems is debatable but we do know from records that his favorite breakfast was hoecakes which are small cornmeal pancakes. He ate them smothered in butter and honey. I think he’d have liked these breakfast gems too which have the same cornbread vibe.
Back then, a gem pan looked like this:
You can buy them online at Ebay and Etsy but they can be quite costly. I used silicone muffin cups.
Mount Vernon Breakfast Gems
As mentioned above, this recipe is adapted from one on the Mount Vernon website. The ingredients are the same but I’ve attempted to clarify the sketchy method. For instance, the original gave no prior warning that the egg whites needed to be beaten till stiff, until the instruction to add them.
Ingredients
1/4 cup or 40g grits
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup or 240ml milk
1 cup or 130g cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
Method
Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C and either line your 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or use silicone muffin cups.
Bring a ½ cup or 120ml water to the boil. Add in the grits and salt and cook for a few minutes until thick. Set aside.
Heat your milk to a simmer. Just as you start to see a little bubble or two, add it to the cornmeal in a large mixing bowl. Stir well to combine.
Add in the sugar and butter. Stir until the butter is melted and both are fully incorporated.
Add the grits to the cornmeal mixture along with the baking powder. Stir well and set aside to cool.
Separate the eggs and lightly beat the yolks.
In a large clean bowl, whisk the whites until stiff peaks form.
Add the egg yolks to the cornmeal mixture and stir well.
Gently fold in the egg whites a few spoons at a time until all are folded in.
First addition.
Third and final addition.
Divide your batter between the 12 muffin cups.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the gems are lightly golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean.
Take the pan out of the oven and leave to cool before removing the gems from the pan and cooling further on a wire rack.
These can be eaten warm or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s Bread Bakers day, when my fellow bloggers and I share recipes on a theme. This month it’s American bread, in recognition of the semiquincentennial. Check out the links below.
- American Parker House Rolls from Sneha's Recipe
- Mount Vernon Breakfast Gems from Food Lust People Love
- Spoon Rolls from Karen's Kitchen Stories
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#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
Pin these Mount Vernon Breakfast Gems!
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