Have you ever had this Mexican Sweet Corn Cake? It’s a seriously dangerous corn cake before. Dangerous meaning I could literally go hide with it somewhere and polish it off all by myself.

This deliciously moist, Mexican sweet corn cake is buttery, flecked with sweet corn nibblets {is that even a word?} and it crumbles, but it’s so in no way dry. You could have it on the side with pretty much anything. Maybe not pasta… that would be weird. But it also goes REALLY well in chili. Yup. in. chili. I’m sharing my new favorite chili recipe a little later, so don’t ya worry.

You bake this corn cake in a water-bath, sort of like a cheesecake, and it never crisps or turns golden… so it’s kind of like a cake-y cornbread. The only thing is you can’t cut it into a square and pick it up with your hands. Oh no, no! You just take an ice cream scoop or if you washed yours in the dishwasher like I did and it turned all tarnished and groddy, then just use a round tablespoon or a spoon for crying out loud to scoop. I do realize I’m failing miserably at describing this.

I remember the first time I had this sweet cake; it was when my husband and I went to a Mexican restaurant a few years ago. We ordered fajitas for two and on the too-small-of-plate-to-hold-that-many-toppings were these two little balls of yellow stuff. I picked at it with my fork and then tasted it. Oh.my.gosh. I was like “Um excuse me? What is this and how can I get a bowl of it?”

After a few failed attempts at home… I think I finally found how I can enjoy this corn cake without driving 50 minutes just to get two measly small balls of it on a teeny tiny plate. It all starts with butter, masa harina {corn flour}, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, water, sweet corn and of course butter.

First add 1 cup of sweet corn onto a cutting board…

Then give it a rough chop and set it off to the side. Watch yourself, these like to squirt. PS. I get my sweet corn in a big gigantic bag from Costco because it’s the BEST!

Next place 2 sticks of butter into a mixing bowl.

Then, on medium-low speed, beat the butter until it’s fluffy and light in color.

Next, add in 2/3 cup of masa (corn) flour.

And then pour in a 1/2 cup of water.

Blend to combine.

Next add in the chopped corn…

The 1/2 cup of cornmeal…

… and the 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder.

Pour in the 4 tablespoons of whole milk. Heavy cream, if you have it, works too but it has to be either or… none of that skim business.

Mix until combined. Use a rubber spatula to double check you’ve mixed everything and no dry goods are left behind.

Pour the corn cake batter into an ungreased 8×11 baking dish…

… and spread it flat.

Cover it with foil, and place the baking dish into a 9×13 dish and fill it one-third of the way with water. For me it was about a cup and a half. Carefully slide the corn cake into the preheated 350 degree oven to bake for 50 minutes.

And when you pull the double pan thingie out of the oven, safely retrieve the 8×11 out of the 9×13. Carefully remove the foil from the pan without burning your fingers and let cool for 10 minutes before you start scooping.

I mean LOOK at that texture… scrumptious.

This, ohhhh man, THIS is what sweet corn cake should look like, except maybe with 15 extra scoops or something.

This is so easy and I promise you everyone will love this.

No if you’ll excuse me I have some leftover Mexican Sweet Corn Cake to annihilate.

Enjoy! And if you give this Mexican Sweet Corn Cake recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance! 

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Yield: 6-8 servings

Mexican Sweet Corn Cake

A soft, tender sweet and savory corn cake that works great as a side dish to your favorite Mexican meal or scoop some and add it to your chili. Your life will be forever changed.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup masa harina (corn flour)
• 1/2 cup water, plus more for water bath
• 1 cup sweet corn, roughly chopped (I get my sweet corn in the freezer section at Costco)
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons whole milk (or heavy cream)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
2. In a large bowl beat the two sticks of butter until fluffy and light in color.
3. Add in the masa and the water and mix with an electric hand mixer until combined.
4. Next add in the chopped corn, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Pour in the whole milk and mix until combined.
5. Scrape the bowl to incorporate any missed dry ingredients before pouring the batter into an un-greased 8x11 glass baking dish and spreading it smooth and evenly.
6. Cover tightly with foil and place the dish into a 9x13 baking dish and then fill the (9x13 pan) 1/3 of the way with water.
7. Place the corn cake into your preheated oven to bake for 50 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes or so before serving.
8. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to dish and serve.