New England Spider Cake

So easy to make that even my husband can do it. We don't drink milk but we keep dried buttermilk in the pantry for times, like this afternoon, when we decide "This sounds good, haven't had it for awhile." Luckily hubby got heavy cream the last time he went shopping.
The cast iron skillet gives us a beautiful crust.

Can evaporated milk be substituted for the heavy cream?

Has anyone doubled the recipe for a larger cake? Put it in a 9 x 13 maybe?

Has anyone made a GF version of this recipe?

Completely easy and really delicious. Is it good for you? Who cares!! Make it once in a while and share it. I was able to just have one piece, but I wanted more!

This was a fantastic, over the top surprise! I have had this intriguing recipe sitting on my kitchen counter for a couple of weeks, finally making it for Thanksgiving week guests. It is simply delicious. I can't recommend it enough! Perhaps a fruit compote would be a lovely addition. Or just relish the delicious simplicity of this cake.

I loved this cake! Texture wise it's very old fashioned or English-syle "pudding." I made a fresh blueberry syrup and fresh whipped cream to serve with it. A squeeze of lemon and we were in HEAVEN. I recommend to take it out when it's still just a little jiggly. The custardy layer is like golden curds of delishiousness.

From the recipe I think I would really like this cake. My cast iron skillet is bigger (a little over 13-in), What would be a best substitute: an enameled skillet or stainless steel?

For those commenting on being too sweet or cornbread shouldn't have sugar, remember, this is not cornbread! This is cake; it's meant to be sweet.

Cider vinegar works just as well as white. You can also use 2 c. buttermilk instead of milk and vinegar.

For those people claiming that NO TRUE SOUTHERNER adds sugar to cornbread, please don't lump the whole entire south into one group! Maybe your family/area doesn't, but many certainly do. I've eaten cornbread in many restaurants across the south when traveling and many cooks put sugar in it. Some added just a little, some added a lot. I lived in Texas and Alabama for several years, and almost everybody I knew there added sugar! And they were many generations southern. Some families differentiated between cornbread and corn muffins. The bread didn't have sugar but the muffins did. Others added or not according to how it was going to be served. If they planned to serve it with chili or something else savory over it, or were making stuffing, they didn't add sugar. If it was to be eaten just as a bread, they added sugar.

I tried this recipe and it mostly came out great..the only issue was that the crust was too brown (maybe burnt?) for me. If you have any tips on how to make a softer crust please do let me know!

I tried this recipe and it mostly came out great..the only issue was that the crust was too brown (maybe burnt?) for me. If you have any tips on how to make a softer crust please do let me know!

I've been eyeing this recipe for some time & just made it, a half batch as Julianna below wisely suggested. Shortened the time to 35 mins (will do 30 mins next time). Love the custard in the middle! Thank you so much for this recipe.

This recipe was tasty on a cloudy cool day. I made a half batch recipe with less sugar in an 8 inch pie pan. The flavor was good, but I might tweak it slightly to have more of the custard layer.

I made this with bob’s red mill GF apf and it turned out great! I agree with others that it could be a little less sweet. And I actually liked it better the next day after spending time in the fridge. The flavors meld into custardy corny sweet goodness and it becomes almost like edible pudding. It makes me want to experiment with corn and cream in fancier formats. Simple and delicious.

Does anyone know why it's called a spider cake?

Just made this. I had some maple sugar from Vermont which I used instead of regular sugar. Had no cornmeal, but did have polenta. Used a 12” nonstick skillet. It turned out great!!!!! I love it and I have been looking for a use for the maple sugar and thought this would work. It did.

This was really good, thank you so much! So delicious and heartening! I didn't have a cast iron skillet, so I made it in a ceramic baking dish - still turned out well for my taste. Next time, I will choose a little wider dish, so the spider cake will be a little flatter - better for the custard. Great excuse to make it again! Thank you so much for sharing this!

I made this as written. Such an interesting cake. It was good - like a sweet cornbread with a custard layer through the middle. The batter was very thin, but it turned out fine. I poured the whipping cream directly in the middle as directed. It was interesting how it perfectly separated out into custard like layer in the middle. I see lots of places where you could experiment and expand on this recipe, but start with it as written and go from there. You won't be disappointed.

Reading these comments are making me want to make this straight away!! Yummmm!

I wish the instructions were clearer about the middle part being normally jiggly. I only found out when I went to the NYT original recipe and a commenter mentioned that. I added an extra ten minutes and I finally took it out. The outside was a bit too brown -- the part that touched my cast iron pan. The middle was jigglier than the pics. But it was good. I think I would decrease the sugar next time.