Cornmeal Pudding

The memory begins here

Burn Bottom, Sweet Top

They call it Hell-a-Bottom and there is good reason. When this pudding bakes in a proper oven — not the fancy convection kind, but the old coal stove or the Dutch pot with coals on top and bottom — the base of the pudding caramelises into a dark, almost burnt layer that cracks between your teeth like toffee while the top stays soft and yielding. That contrast is the whole point, and it is why every Jamaican grandmother will tell you that Cornmeal Pudding from a modern oven is never quite right.

The name 'Hell-a-Bottom' refers to the caramelised base layer. Some bakers intentionally place extra coals beneath the Dutch pot to intensify this layer — essentially controlling the 'hellfire' under the pudding.