Use that leftover, stale cornbread in a delicious milk and make a scrumptious cornbread and milk matcha latte! Cornbread and milk are a staple Southern snack that is kind of like thick cereal. The bread gets soft while all the sweet corn flavor infuses into the milk. It’s slightly savory, sweet, and buttery, and makes the perfect caffeinated sweet treat.

Here’s how to make a cornbread and milk matcha latte at home!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Use leftover cornbread in a fun, easy, and delicious way.
• Try the corn and matcha flavor combination!
• It’s a super-easy, step-by-step recipe that takes less than 10 minutes to make.
• Makes an innovative cafe-quality beverage at home!

What is Cornbread and Milk?

No one likes stale cornbread, but what’s worse is wasting potentially delicious bread. So, cornbread and milk were born! It’s a classic Southern and Appalachian comfort snack made by crumbling old cornbread into milk and eating it with a spoon. Traditionally, you use buttermilk, but regular milk works just as well.

You can have it with savory or sweet cornbread. There are even savory items you can add to this to make it salty. Though I personally am a fan of sweet cornbread and milk. The milk gets really sweet and buttery, and it’s so addictive. It’s kind of similar to cereal and milk!

I had some leftover cornbread from a Thanksgiving dinner, so I made a cornbread-infused milk and used that for my matcha latte.

Do Corn and Matcha Go Together?

Yes! Matcha goes great with a lot of sweet and creamy flavors like condensed milk, white chocolate, vanilla, etc. Corn milk leans into that flavor profile, with a bit of savoriness, so the two pair nicely. The matcha bitterness balances out the sweetness and adds a nice earthiness.

Depending on how strong the corn milk is, it can sometimes overpower the matcha, especially if you use a milder-tasting matcha. But most of the time, the two flavors balance nicely.

How to Make Corn Milk

If you don’t have cornbread, you can also make corn milk as a replacement! Corn milk in this context is milk infused with corn flavor and blended. It’s a popular flavored milk in many Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, where it’s called sữa bắp.

Most of the flavor comes from corn cobs, specifically the “corn milk” inside of them. But just infusing them in hot milk isn’t enough; you really want to infuse the cobs overnight. This will give you the best, most corniest flavor!

Once you separate the corn kernels from the cobs, cook them in milk and infuse them overnight if possible. Then, once they’re done infusing, remove the cobs and blend to get all the extra corn juice from the kernels. You can follow my recipe for corn milk here.

Cornbread and Milk: What You’ll Need

Equipment:

• A matcha bowl
• Matcha whisk
• Tea sifter
• A handheld frother

Ingredients:

• 4 2×2-inch cubes of cornbread
• 1½ tsp matcha powder
• 1½ cups milk
• 1 cup ice
• Honey Butter Cold Foam
• 2 tsp honey butter
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp milk

Cornbread and Milk Recipe

1. Make or Buy Cornbread. Buy or make your favorite sweet cornbread recipe! I used a box mix from Trader Joe’s, and it was perfect.
2. Soak Cornbread. Cut and add cornbread to a large cup of milk. Make sure the milk only fills half the cup to account for the cornbread. Let it soak for 10 minutes, then strain.
3. Whisk Matcha. Sift matcha powder into the bowl and add 170-175 F water. Vigorously whisk in a zigzag motion for 20 – 30 seconds until frothy. The froth should be velvety and have really small, tight bubbles.
4. Whip Honey Butter Cream. Add honey butter, heavy cream, and milk to a cup or bowl. Use a handheld frother and whip the cream until soft and fluffy but still pourable.
5. Assemble Drink. Add ice, cornbread milk, whisked matcha, and top with honey butter cream. Garnish with cornbread crumbles, a dusting of matcha powder, corn kernels, or a drizzle of honey.
6. Mix and Enjoy!

Tips for the Best Cornbread Matcha Latte

• Use Small Cornbread Pieces: The more surface area available, the better the diffusion. Thanks, high school biology! Large pieces of cornbread take much longer to infuse than smaller pieces. For the most efficient infusion, crumble the cornbread into small pieces and make sure all the pieces touch the milk.
• Strain Cornbread Milk: Once the cornbread infuses into the milk, strain out the cornbread so that you’re left with a smooth and creamy milk. Make sure all the small bits and pieces are out, especially if your corn bread has cornmeal in it.
• Whisk Thoroughly: Make sure there are no matcha clumps left once you’re done whisking. If you don’t whisk properly, there may be some clumps at the bottom of the bowl that end up in your drink. Then, you’ll have grainy, sad matcha!

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do with the leftover cornbread?

Honestly, I would recommend eating it, but after it infuses in milk, there is virtually no flavor left. It’s just mush… I would either compost it or add it to yogurt with some honey as a sweetener.

What does cornbread milk taste like?

Cornbread and milk are a satisfying sweet and savory combination. It’s slightly vanilla-flavored, buttery, and corny in the best way. If you’ve had corn ice cream or pudding, it tastes like that, but in bread form! It’s not too sweet and can lean sweet or savory.

Is cornbread good with milk?

Heck yeah, it is. If cornbread and milk are a popular snack, then it shows that the bread goes well with milk. There’s also milk in cornbread, which gives it a light milky flavor. Milk’s creaminess makes it great for adding flavors to, and not limited to fruit or chocolate.

Other Matcha Latte Recipes to Try

This sweet cornbread-infused milk tastes incredible with a savory and umami matcha latte. It’s sweet and savory, but in the best way. If you want more dessert-inspired matcha recipes, here are some to try next:

• Biscoff Cookie Butter Matcha Latte
• Cardamom Bun Matcha Latte
• Oreo Matcha Latte
• Tiramisu Matcha Latte
• Dubai Chocolate Matcha Latte