It sounds like a strange combination, but when I ate it at the restaurant, I could not believe how well the flavours worked. My testers raved when they tasted it too. I ate the leftovers for breakfast.

1 cup raw bacon, diced small

2 tablespoons butter

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1¼ cup corn meal

¼ cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

¾ cup buttermilk

½ cup whole milk

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons molasses

½ cup chopped dried apricots

Garnish:

Maple ice-cream

Maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Place bacon and butter in a sauté pan, and cook until the bacon is crisp. Set aside to cool.

Reserve ½ cup for the topping along with some fat, the other half for the bread.

Grease and lightly flour an 8- by 8-inch pan.

Combine flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Combine eggs, buttermilk, milk, honey and molasses in a medium-sized bowl.

Create a well in the centre of the bowl of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the centre. Whisk carefully until everything is evenly combined. Stir in the apricots and half the bacon including half the fat. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Top corn bread with a scoop of maple ice-cream, sprinkle with reserved bacon bits and drizzle with any remaining bacon fat and maple syrup.