Spoonbread recipes usually call for cooking the cornmeal and water to a mush
and then adding the rest of the ingredients and baking it.

I found two recipes recently, including the Hotel Roanoke one, that call for
simply adding boiling water to the cornmeal and then adding the rest of the
ingredients. It seemed a bit easier and quicker, so I tried it. I ended up
with a deep layer of cornbread on the bottom and a smaller layer of custard
on the top. Apparently the cornmeal just sank to the bottom of the baking
dish and stayed there. Has anyone tried this method with success?

Felice