I spent about a week hemming and hawing about whether to try making this again as a one-blender or one-processor deal. Which is about par for me. And after a week, I decided it’s fine to just leave it as it is. I don’t need to make it again. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great and all, plus it freezes and reheats well, I just can’t eat this way on a regular basis. It is so rich. So I don’t know for sure if throwing all the ingredients in a blender or processor will achieve the same results, but I would say it’s very likely. But anyway, it’s not much more work to do it my way, and the result is what you see here. It’s a fairly moist cake that isn’t too heavy or dense and with slightly crisp edges achieved by buttering the pan well.

Truth be told, I also hemmed and hawed about whether I should call it Mexican. Ben is Mexican but says this reminds him of something he thought was more Guatamalan. And I thought, What gives me the right to call it Mexican? Or to attach any nationality to it, for that matter? The nerve! Why can’t it just be a sweet corn cake dessert? But in the end, this is just what it is, and what it’s called. I don’t make the rules. If you are reading this and it bugs you, you are not alone. But don’t let that stop you from making what I think it a great, yet simple dessert. This is a recipe that is based on a few different ones floating around on the internet, but I believe it’s close to the version that they sell in our local Latino market, which they sell in the bakery area along with all the other sweet breads and rolls, not as a cake. And it’s plenty rich. If you think it might be too sweet, you can also substitute in more sour cream for the sweetened condensed milk, which is where most of the sweetness comes from. If you want to think of it more as a dessert, go ahead and serve it with some vanilla ice cream and/or warm cajeta sauce. That’s definitely what I’d add to it if I made this again. Enjoy!

mexican corn cake

ingredients

3.5 cups (about 2 cans) corn kernels, drained

4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces

1 can sweetened condensed milk, 381 grams

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4 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup sour cream, room temperature, 270 grams

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

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1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 65 grams

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

method

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. and grease a 9 x 13 rectangular pan with butter. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon–into a bowl and stir with a whisk several times. Set aside.

Into the cabin of a food processor or blender, add the corn kernels, (reserving about 1/2 cup to be mixed in later), the butter, and the condensed milk. Mix on medium speed until somewhat smooth. I just mixed mine for about 20 seconds. 

In a medium bowl, add the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Pour this into the food processor and mix again on medium until incorporated, about 20 seconds.

Finally, add the flour mixture to the food processor and mix on medium until mixed through, about 10 seconds. Stir in the remaining corn kernels. 

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes until the top is golden brown and toothpick stuck into the center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven to cool in the pan on a wire rack before slicing into squares or rectangles.