One Bowl Baking: Cranberry Corn Toaster Cakes

When I was a kid my mom would buy packages of Thomas's "Toast R Cakes". They were basically a wide and flat muffin—the perfect size for popping in the toaster for a quick breakfast before school. They came in two flavors, corn and blueberry. What I loved most about toaster cakes was the extra surface area for crisping. These days we'd probably just call it a big 'ole muffin top, but back when I was a kid the trendy muffin top pan was not around, so these were a pretty big deal.

I've recently been putting my handy muffin top pan to work after having been collecting dust for years. For my cookbook, One Bowl Baking, I developed a recipe for corn toaster cakes, my favorite of the two flavors that Thomas' sold. These corn toaster cakes are not overly sweet, and the hearty texture of cornmeal texture toasts up just right. I always like to make up a batch and then store them in the freezer so that they're at the ready when I want one.

The toaster cakes here are basically a variation of the recipe in the book. I'm in heaven during cranberry season, and if I had an extra freezer I'd fill it with bags to last me throughout the year. But since I don't, to make use of my fresh stash, I popped a handful into the batter. The burst of zingy cranberries is terrific with corn, and even better with a pad of butter melted on top.