Sweet corn tamale cakes [recipe]

I had planned on making tamales this week. Really, I had. I even bought the Maseca corn flour a while back.

But my first cold of the season has me miserable. Add to that the fact that it’s that time of the month, and I’m a mess. Staring at this big sack of Maseca on my counter, it hit me that I don’t have a steamer. Or corn husks. And I really don’t feel like going shopping right now! Maybe someone who reads this will get the hint… Santa, baby, I need a steamer!

I am making something with this Maseca for Tamales! I tell myself. It’s not going to sit on my kitchen counter one more day. I looked in my pantry and refrigerator, and decided to take a stab at making sweet corn tamale cakes, inspired by the delicious appetizer served at The Cheesecake Factory. Total comfort food. You probably have most of these ingredients yourself!

Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes

This recipe is loosely based off of one I found on Maseca’s website for Corn Tamale Pudding. I divided the recipe in half, am using frozen corn instead of fresh, and reduced the amount of milk, in addition to skipping the pudding part altogether. I also cooked the cakes in the oven instead of a steamer.

Ingredients

• 4 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups MASECA for Tamales
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ¾ cup melted butter
• ½ tablespoon baking powder
• ½ tablespoon salt
• Sour cream, for serving

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. In a blender or food processor, process the corn and milk.
3. In a big bowl, combine the Maseca, sugar, baking powder, salt, and melted butter, and pour in the corn mixture. Beat with a hand mixer until all ingredients are combined. This is when I daydream of a stand mixer… um, Santa… can you bring me one of these, too? Thanks in advance.
2. The dough should start to get a little stiff. Shape it into balls and form into little patties, 2-3 inches wide. I have to admit I skipped this part and just put dollops of it onto a baking pan, ala drop biscuits.
4. Bake until the corn cakes start to turn golden, about 20-25 minutes.
5. So… that’s it! The CCF version is served with a variety of sauces and toppings, but I like mine simple. Just a dollop of sour cream.

I served myself one while they were still warm. So good with the cool sour cream! So good that I served myself a second one, just so I could take the photo above. I found the cakes to be a teensy bit dry, so maybe I overcooked them or set the temperature too high. I never said I’m an expert baker. 😉 Of course, if I served these cakes with a bunch of sauces, like the restaurant version, I doubt I’d find them dry at all!

If I were do it again, though, I’d make these more like traditional tamales, wrapped in corn husks and steamed. I think that would make them much more moist! That said, I think they stay together better when baked, so if you made them smaller (think the size of mini muffins) these little cakes would make great vessels for a multitude of toppings… bite-size hors d’oeuvres for holiday parties!

If you want to learn more about Maseca, the new English version of the Maseca website is now live! Be sure to check it out for some great recipe ideas. You can also find Maseca on Facebook and Twitter, and follow the Maseca Blog Amigas’ tweets at #clubmimaseca.

Disclosure: I’m participating in a sponsored campaign with Maseca and Latina Bloggers Connect, but all opinions are my own.