Mealies are such a South African thing. They are available all year round and we find so many wonderful ways to eat them – best of all, on the cob! I use leftover corn in salads, or combine whatever I have with canned kernel corn or sweetcorn to use in things like cornbread, sweetcorn fritters or corn soup. I’m sharing my corn bread recipe today because it’s a really easy, fuss-free recipe that hits the spot at any time of day.

Join my Valentines Day competition on Instagram this week by baking this bread and submitting your image. You stand to win one of 7 copies of my first cookbook, “Pink Gin and Fairy Cakes”. You can find me on IG at jan_kohler_cooks

Here’s what goes in:
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ an onion, very finely chopped
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan or Grana Padano
1 can creamed sweetcorn (415g)
½ a packet of finely chopped bacon, fried (optional)

How to do it:
Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and line a loaf tin measuring approximately 22 x 11cm. Lightly beat the eggs with a hand whisk, then add the dry ingredients and combine. Add the cheese, chopped onion and sweetcorn (and bacon if using, not omitting its oozy bacon oil) and gently mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until combined. The consistency will be quite runny. Transfer the mixture to the loaf tin and bake at 180°C for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out (mostly) clean. You don’t want uncooked dough sticking to the skewer, but bear in mind that sweetcorn, just by its nature, makes this bread moist and your skewer may therefore not come out squeaky clean. Allow the bread to rest and cool before you slice it.