Cornmeal Pone
Cornmeal Pudding Pone Recipe – This easy yet indulgent Caribbean dessert is made with cornmeal and topped with a decadent coconut sauce. Bake until the top is bubbly, and then dig in. It’s an unforgettable tropical treat.
Warm Caribbean spices make each creamy slice of pone absolutely cozy. It tastes fantastic with a hot cup of tea or coffee but goes just as well with a refreshing lemonade or iced tea, thanks to the tropical flavors.
This recipe is also an ideal dessert for guests for a couple of reasons. Number one, it’s easy to make, which means more time to spend with your friends around the table. Number two, it’s not common in most areas, so it makes a great conversation point, and your guests will love trying something new.
Content…What Is It? |
What Is Cornmeal Pudding Pone?
Also known as Jamaican cornmeal pudding, cornmeal pone is a beloved Caribbean dessert enjoyed throughout the West Indies, especially in Jamaica. Yellow cornmeal and coconut milk are the main ingredients.
Then add all your favorite Caribbean flavors: allspice, cinnamon, rum, and nutmeg for a real treat. Texture-wise, this baked dessert falls somewhere between a pudding and a cake. The mixture is perfectly soft and packed with flavor. 😋
Ingredient List
- Dry Ingredients – Cornmeal and a small amount of flour are the foundation for the cornmeal pone recipe’s unique texture.
- Butter adds richness, depth of flavor, and a great mouthfeel to this dessert.
- Milk – You’ll need both regular milk and coconut milk for this recipe. These two ingredients contribute to the creamy texture and the tropical flavors.
- Sugar – Both white and brown sugars make an appearance in cornmeal pone.
- Raisins – Raisins add a pop of color and a slight variation in texture to the dessert.
- Optional Ingredients – Vanilla extract and dark rum are optional but add beautiful layers to the overall flavor.
How to Make Cornmeal Pone
Make the Cornmeal Pudding Pone
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃). Grease a 10-inch baking pan and set aside.
- Heat – In a large saucepan, add butter, coconut milk, milk, sugar, spices, and salt. Bring it to a boil, then remove the mixture from the heat.
- Cornmeal – Combine cornmeal, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Then, stir in a cup of water. Add the rum and vanilla at this point if using.
- Combine – Scoop out a cup of the coconut milk mixture and stir it into the cornmeal mixture. You may have to repeat 2-3 times to get the cornmeal smooth.
- Whisk – Gradually whisk the cornmeal mixture a little at a time into the saucepan with the rest of the hot coconut milk. Continue stirring with a whisk to prevent lumps.
- Simmer – Bring to a boil and simmer. Continue stirring frequently for 6-8 minutes to prevent lumps and burning.
- Raisins – Remove it from the heat and add about ½ cup of raisins.
- Bake – Pour or scoop the pudding mixture into a prepared baking pan. Bake it for about 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted turns out clean.
- Serve with coconut sauce.
Make the Coconut Sauce
- Coconut Sauce – Combine 1 cup of coconut milk, ½ cup brown sugar, and ¼ cup butter in a small saucepan. Cook until the butter melts and simmers for about 2 minutes. Set aside until ready to use. (Serve the sauce on the side or add it to the pudding for a soft top.)
- Soft Top – If making a soft top, remove the cornmeal pone from the oven after baking for 30 minutes. Prick the pudding all over with a toothpick and pour about ½ (or all) the coconut sauce into the pan.
- Finish Baking – Return the pudding to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, and the top will bubble.
Recipe Variations
- Swap out the raisins. You can use any dried fruit in this cornmeal pone. You can even soak the fruit in rum before adding it. Or simply omit the raisins.
- Make it gluten-free. Swap your all-purpose flour with gluten-free baking flour.
- Make it vegan. Use vegan butter and replace the regular milk with all coconut milk for a delicious and nutritious vegan dessert.
Tips and Tricks
- For optimal richness, use full-fat coconut milk! 🥥
- To make removing the pudding easier, line your baking pan with parchment and grease it with butter or cooking spray. You could also use a springform pan.
- Always give the pone time to cool and firm up before cutting it. Otherwise, you could be dealing with a sloppy mess.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Cornmeal pone can be made a day or two ahead of time. Let it cool, and then store it in the fridge, covered, until you are ready to slice and serve it. Cornmeal porridge and pudding both freeze well for 3-4 months if in an airtight package.
If you don’t want to serve it chilled, let it come to room temp an hour or two before serving it. Keep leftover cornmeal pudding in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days and serve chilled or at room temperature.
What Goes With Cornmeal Pone
Cornmeal pone tastes great with tropical fruit salad for a little variety to the dessert table. To drink, try it with a cool glass of Brazilian lemonade with coconut milk or a hot drink like ginger tea or a cappuccino. ☕
More Cornmeal Pudding Recipes to Try
Cornmeal Pudding Pone
Ingredients
The Cornmeal Pudding
- 4 ounces (113g) butter
- 1¾ cups (a 14-ounce can or 415ml) coconut milk
- 4 cups (950ml) whole milk
- ¾-1 cup (160-213g) brown sugar
- 1 cup (200 grams) white sugar
- 3 teaspoons (9-10g) spices (1 teaspoon each of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, etc.)
- 3 cups (450g) cornmeal
- ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons (7-8g) salt
- 1 cup (236ml) water
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) or more dark rum (optional)
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract (optional)
- ½ cup (75g) raisins
Coconut Sauce
- 1 cup (236ml) coconut milk
- ½ cup (105g) brown sugar
- 2 ounces (57g) butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃). Grease a 10-inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, add butter, coconut milk, milk, sugar, spices, and salt. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, and salt, then add a cup of water and stir. Add the rum and vanilla at this point if using.
- Scoop out some coconut milk mixture and add to the cornmeal mixture a cup at a time until the mixture is smooth (you may have to add 2-3 cups).
- Gradually whisk the cornmeal mixture into the saucepan (stirring continuously to prevent lumps).
- Bring to a boil and simmer (stirring frequently) for 6-8 minutes to prevent lumps and burning.
- Remove from heat, add about ½ cup of raisins. Pour or scoop the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Bake for about 60 minutes, or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Coconut Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup coconut milk, ½ cup brown sugar, and ¼ cup butter. Let it melt and simmer for about 2 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
- Serve the pudding with the coconut sauce.
Soft Top Version
- If making a soft top pudding, remove the cornmeal pone from the oven 30 minutes into baking, prick it with a toothpick, and pour ½ or all of the coconut sauce mixture over the pudding.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is bubbly.
- Let it cool before serving.
Tips & Notes:
- For optimal richness, use full-fat coconut milk!
- To make removing the pudding easier, line your baking pan with parchment and grease it with butter or cooking spray. You could also use a springform pan.
- Always give the pone time to cool and firm up before cutting it.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
I made it using following your recipe and it was delicious as my mother used to make it. Thank you. This will be my go to recipe.
Awesome! I am so glad you love this recipe, Claudette!
Can this cornmeal pudding go bad?
Hi Earl! You can keep the left-overs in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or you can freeze for up to 2 months.
I put the sauce on half way through and the pone has turned so wet. Wetter than when I took it out half way through. What shall I do ?
Sorry to hear about that . It shouldn’t be that way. Did you let it cook for the recommended length of time? I can’t say for sure without actually being there… So many variables
I would keep baking a little longer. Normally we just keep basting with the sauce after it starts to firm up so it gets like a topping
Delicious! I was glad that this recipe was egg-free, the other ones I found weren’t.
-I didn’t have enough milk or count milk, but just made up the difference with water, and it turned out amazing anyway (2 cups coconut milk, 1.5 cups milk, 3.5 cups water).
-I boiled the butter, sugar, salt and spices withe the milks and only mixed 2 cups of water with the flour and cornmeal.
-I added the rest of the water gradually to wash the batter out of my bowl, and to loosen the mixture in the pot if it thickened too quickly.
-I poured it all into a 13 x 9 glass dish, and sprinkled raisins over half the dish only (kids are picky but I want raisins!)
This was a great recipe and I’ll be saving it for future use. Thank you!
I love raisins too! I will definitely try this out with raisins. Thanks for sharing all the tips too!
Excited about making this recipe as part of a Jamaican feast for friends. What size cake pan or baking tin did you use for recipe?
Hello ,
I used a 10 inch springform baking pan.
Can I use a regular 10” baking pan? Only have that and a 8” spring foam pan.
Hi Kay. Yes, you can use a regular 10″ baking pan. Since it is not a spring foam pan, and given the soft top, when it is time to serve you would have to cut the pudding while it is still in the pan. Or, Let it cool then lay a flat plate over the top of the cake pan and Carefully flip it over onto the plate. Bang on the bottom of the pan and then lift the pan off. Hope this helps 🙂 .
Thanks great recipe, as I can not remember how my mum use to make it. Next time I will read the reviews first, as came out far too sweet but looks amazing.
Can you use only whole milk for this recipe? I normally use 1% milk but I also have carnation milk.
Yes you sure can,
I don’t think the conversions to grams are correct which meant when I tried making this it came out too sweet. One cup = 128 grams whereas the receipt says 1 cup of white sugar is 200 grams. I will do the cup conversion myself next time and let you know how it goes
Hi, Melissa. Sorry to hear that. 1 cup of (granulated) white sugar is 200 g. Perhaps that conversion that you have there is for the powdered sugar which is finer in texture compared to the granulated white sugar.
This recipe looks amazing! However my Japanese family are a little sensitive to sweet desserts. Do you think I could reduce the sugar a bit without changing the overall flavour and texture too much?
Yes you sure can. Feel free to adjust sugar to taste.
I’m confused by the coconut milk measurements. It
Says 2 cups but also says 14 oz can. So am I using 1 14oz can? But 2 cups is 16oz.
Made this last night and it is delish! So moist. My question is to serve the rest the next day how would you recommend reheating?
I usually reheat in the oven at 300 degrees , until it warms up.
Or just take it out early and let it get to room temperature if you are in a warm environment. If not you can microwave for a few minutes (not much).
I made this and it was absolutely gorgeous. I’ve tried other corneal pone recipes but they were always hit and miss.
Will definitely be making it again.
Hello, when you say butter what yoe of butter salted or unsalted
It’s un-salted butter
Accidentally posted a review for the cornmeal pone on That Girl Cooks Healthy’s blog smh. Lol To reiterate the pone was a big hit with my Jamaican family and my best Trini friend. Thank you for that recipe
Awesome, Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.
Can this pudding be frozen?
That’s a good question. I haven’t tried freezing it .So I can’t say for sure.
Yes it can, after baking. Let it cool all the way down. Then wrap good in plastic wrap then foil. When you are ready for it, take it out and sit until it defrost somewhat then heat oven at high temperature and warm up for about 10 minutes on the middle rack. Or slice and microwave after defrosting.
Awesome! Thanks for taking time out to share this with us.
God Bless!!!
I love your site! This pone took me back to childhood! I replaced the rum with molasses but kept everything else. True Jamaican pone! Thank you so much for your beautiful site.
Thank you, too, Roxanne! I’ll be trying it next time with molasses.
Made this today but my sauce didnt come out thick like yours but the pone came out great an yes i use can coconut milk… will like any feedback on how to get it thick
Sorry to hear about this.Next time bring the the sauce to a boil and simmer for a few minutes so the sugar is completely dissolved. This would definitely make it thicker. Also be sure to use canned coconut milk. Glad to hear you liked the pone.
Oh my days, I made this today 19/05/2018 I followed the recipe to a “T” and ohhhhhhhhh it is absolutely delicious. Never ever tasted such a moist delicious cornmeal pudding. At first I thought this mixture is far too runny but I didn’t changed anything just carried on with the recipe and the outcome was a delicious moist pudding.
You must make this pudding. I high recommend it. Hope you enjoy as much as my friends and family have, Will be making it again soon.
Yaaay! **Happy dance** Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, Tricia. I appreciate it! Happy baking! 🙂
Will give it a try. Love that it looks so moist
Hello!! When I saw this recipe I was sooo excited. I made this recipe yesterday and though the flavor was amazing it seemed drier than the picture. I think it’s because I used cornmeal and not corn flour like you mentioned in one of the comments. Can you tell me what brand you used of corn flour? I want to make it again! Yum!!
Thanks , I used quaker corn meal, available at Walmart
Hi your ingredients have 2 cups coconut milk and 4 cups whole milk but you didn’t put all in the mixture. Please confirm.
Thanks
Hi Maureen. I did mix those two – coconut milk and whole milk. Please see step #2. And I did put all the mixture in the pudding.
Hi I’m Helen from England. So excited about this recipe. My Jamaican god mother used to make it for me when I was a child. I loved it. First time trying to make it myself. It’s in the oven now looks and smells amazing. Doing soft top and sauce too
I have the hankering for this right now- can’t seem to have enough of this . Oh, love the soft top too! Bon Apetit!
What size of springform pan did you use?
Thanks!
Hi Andrea! I used a 10 inch pan.