How can I modify corn bread recipes to accomodate a wet filling?

Question

I am hoping to make dough cups using a corn bread style dough. My approximate recipe would be, presumably, to par-bake initially, then fill with a pot pie style liquid/solid mixture, top with a corn bread puck, and bake until it is molten and exterior browns.

Standard style corn breads I have eaten are too spongy for this kind of application, and would not be able to be pressed against the walls of the muffin pan to form the walls; to give an idea, my initial idea was to try something more like beer dough for the par-baked crust.

Is there something in between? Even if corn-bread is throwing off my search results, I am guessing perhaps there is a molten cup cake batter/dough recipe or something that can be modified to have a savory corn-bread flavor and still really stand up to baking with a liquid inside.

• How can I modify standard corn bread recipes to accomodate a wet filling?
• Am I underestimating the resilience of corn bread to not succumbing to exploding from its filling?
• Would it be possible to use a standard corn bread recipe, but then, in effect, laminate the inside with something toothsome but not too distracting in texture (for instance, egg wash might prove a good laminate, but I am looking for vegan solutions)?
  • I have done similar things with egg wash before, would a wash of flax/Chia egg produce the same result?
  • melting something like cheese on the inside might work, any vegan options spring to mind (other than daiya)?

(Vegan options preferred, but I can make substitutions as necessary)

Answer

I agree that cornbread will not have the structure you need since it's close to a sponge cake. Instead of modifying a cornbread recipe, I would recommend modifying a pie crust recipe.

A standard pie crust is approximately 3 parts flour : 2 parts fat : 1 part water. To achieve the cornbread flavors, replace some of the flour with the cornmeal, as it can serve the same purpose as flour in this case. You can also replace some or all of the water with milk or buttermilk. If you do not like the grainy texture of the cornmeal, soak the cornmeal in the liquid you choose for several hours to overnight.

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