I was going through the links on the site today – seeing what was new and making sure they were all still current – when I got to David Lebovitz.
Now… I have been unashamedly in love with David since forever. He was the pastry chef at Chez Panisse for years, and his approach to desserts is everything I love – uncomplicated but intense. His Lemon Bars are the gold standard by which all others are judged.
So… while perusing his website I came across a recipe for Corn Cakes. Oh my goodness. I am a corn junkie. Fresh off the cob, ground up into corn chips or tortilla chips, corn bread, corn sticks, hushpuppies, or corn dogs, I loves me some corn.
I knew at that moment we were going to have them for dinner.
David warned that corn flour is not the same as corn meal – which I did know – but I did a bit more research since I always have masa harina on hand and learned it was not the same, either. Masa harina and corn flour look a lot alike, but they are different types of corn processed in very different ways. They are not interchangeable. Fortunately, corn flour is available right up the street from me.
So… armed with my bag of corn flour, I went to work. In absolutely no-time, I had corn cakes on the table. It’s a ridiculously-easy recipe.
They were fantastic and as we were eating them we were thinking of other ways to use them – as in the base for a take on eggs benedict, for one… I would love a gooey runny yolk on one of these…
Fresh Corn Cakes
adapted from David Lebovitz who adapted it from Alice Waters
- 1 1/2 cups corn flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 ears of fresh corn – about 2 cups
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 large egg white
Blend the corn flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Warm the butter with the milk and honey, until the butter is melted. Set aside until barely warm.
When cool, stir it into the dry ingredients alomng with the 2 egg yolks, and the corn.
In a separate bowl, beat the 3 egg whites until stiff and then fold them completely into the corn mixture.
Heat a pat of butter in a skillet. Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, scoop batter into the pan, spacing them comfortably apart.
Cook the cakes until browned on the bottom and starting to bubble around the edges – like a pancake. Flip the corn cakes and cook on the other side until lightly browned.
Serve with sour cream, if desired.
David added cayenne and hot peppers to his. I left both out as Nonna is no longer a fan of spice, but I’ll definitely add some in next time I make them. And there will be a next time!
So thank you, David and thank you Alice. It was fun…
And speaking of fun… there’s a couple more of your cook books I’m going to have to get real soon…