I’ve got corn comin’ out my ears! I’ve made corn chowder, corn salsas and salads, creamed corn, and after seeing a few recipes for corn fritters and cakes, I wanted to try my hand at those too. We looked at a bunch of recipes across the web, but ended up modifying Mom’s corn cake recipe (which calls for canned creamed corn) to work with fresh instead. The tomato-avocado salsa we saw on Ezra Pound Cake! inspired us. While we enjoyed these corn cakes for breakfast, they’d make a fantastic lunch or dinner too.
My tastes run savory–I’d choose a slice of pizza over a wedge of cake any day–so I thought I’d always pair the sweet corn cakes with savory salsa. But the other night Andy was still hungry after dinner, so I reheated the leftover corn cakes and doused them in Lyle’s Golden Syrup. In that moment, I definitely preferred them sweet and imagined making them for breakfast. Often.
- 1 avocado, halved pitted, peeled, and cut into small diced
- 2 large tomatoes cut into medium dice and lightly salted *
- 2 scallions, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Salt and pepper
- 3 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
- 1 cup cornmeal, divided
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- For the salsa: mix all ingredients, including a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper; set aside.
- For the corn cakes: Process corn kernels from 2 of the ears in a food processor to a juicy puree; transfer to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in ½ cup of cornmeal and cook to make a very thick pasty mush. Remove from heat, whisk in ½ cup water, then the oil, then the egg, and finally the kernels from the remaining ear of corn; set aside.
- Mix remaining ½ cup of cornmeal with the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. (Wet ingredients can be refrigerated and dry ingredients can be set aside overnight.)
- When ready to cook cakes, heat a griddle over two burners at medium heat; brush lightly with oil. Stir wet ingredients into dry to form a firm batter. Depending on corn’s moisture level, you may need to add water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough is soft and spoon-able, but not pourable.
- Working in batches, spoon batter onto the hot griddle in ¼-cup portions. Cook, turning only once, until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Serve warm with Tomato-Avocado Salsa.
2. If you're lucky enough to have a mix of tomatoes, just dice up enough to measure 2 cups.
YUMM! Thxs for an idea on how to get rid of some tomatoes!
Thanks for a few great ideas for all the summer produce that is littering my kitchen! These will definitely be made in my kitchen and soon!
What a great idea. Corn corn corn everywhere and now I have another corn dish to make. And avocado just makes it I am sure of it:).
Love the sound of this salsa!
I’ve made something like this before and it was like heaven! I had it for brunch, but like you, I’d pretty much eat them any meal of the day, they’re just GOOD!
what changes for a can of creamed corn?
love your site and your books
I have two of your books
Hey Linda, Substitute 1/2 of a can of creamed corn for the 2 ears of pureed corn and then add 1/2 cup corn kernels for the remaining 1 ear.
This one is going out to our farm CSA members! Looks fabulous!
Thanks so much for cooking seasonally – it means so much to the farm community 😀
We’re on the Cape this week and I think this is exactly what needs to be made for lunch one of these days. Maybe with a crisp white. 🙂