drizzle of neutral oil like canola, vegetable or avocado oil to cook the pancakes
For the upgrade:
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh herb like: chives, dill, basil, thyme, parsley
To serve:
butter
maple syrup
fresh fruit salad
Takes ,
serves 4-6.
Instructions
Preheat griddle or large skillet to moderate or medium-high, 425°F.
Place milk, butter and sugar in small pan. Heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt together in a large measure. Create a well in the centre of the dry mix. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl, then spill eggs into the well in the large measure. Add the the milk and butter mixture. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Add these optional ingredients for the upgrade: corn, cheese, jalapeño and fresh herbs. Stir to combine.
Cook corn cakes: Drizzle some oil onto the griddle or pan. When the oil is shimmering, add dollops of corn cake batter, about 1/4 cup, onto griddle. Cook until golden on the bottom and bubbles appear along the edges. Flip and cook other side for about a minute, until lightly browned.
Transfer to low-heat side of grill until all the cakes are cooked.
Serve with butter, maple syrup and fresh fruit salad.
Corn Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
For the corn cakes:
¾ cup coarse grind cornmeal
½ cup corn flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
drizzle of neutral oil like canola, vegetable or avocado oil to cook the pancakes
For the upgrade:
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh herb like: chives, dill, basil, thyme, parsley
To serve:
butter
maple syrup
fresh fruit salad
Directions
Preheat griddle or large skillet to moderate or medium-high, 425°F.
Place milk, butter and sugar in small pan. Heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt together in a large measure. Create a well in the centre of the dry mix. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl, then spill eggs into the well in the large measure. Add the the milk and butter mixture. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Add these optional ingredients for the upgrade: corn, cheese, jalapeño and fresh herbs. Stir to combine.
Cook corn cakes: Drizzle some oil onto the griddle or pan. When the oil is shimmering, add dollops of corn cake batter, about 1/4 cup, onto griddle. Cook until golden on the bottom and bubbles appear along the edges. Flip and cook other side for about a minute, until lightly browned.
Transfer to low-heat side of grill until all the cakes are cooked.
Serve with butter, maple syrup and fresh fruit salad.
Corn Cakes Recipe
5 / 5. 2
Light and fluffy pan-fried cakes made with cornmeal, corn flour, corn kernels, jalapeño, cheese and chives…
Whether for breakfast, brunch or a simple side, this CORN CAKES RECIPE is like no other!
This post all started with me whipping up a batch of BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK PANCAKES a few weeks back. The very first bite of those dreamy, light, fluffy pan-cooked cakes got us thinking, “What else could we do?” Before we knew it, we were digging through dry goods in the pantry, grabbing milk and eggs from the fridge, plus heading off to market to see what fruits and vegetables were just in. After testing and tweaking the recipe a few times, we’ve come away with the best CORN CAKES RECIPE we’ve ever tried. Trust us, something very delicious is on the way.
Two things to note. First, this recipe features an upgrade, where we add four additional ingredients to the simple batter, taking these CORN CAKES from simple to amazing. The instructions attached to this recipe explain everything but, the go-forward is that an easy-to-make recipe yielding big flavours awaits.
Second thing is about terminology. Who knew there were so many variations? So, let’s agree we’re making pancakes, where we stir up a batter and cook small round cakes in a skillet or on a griddle.
Beyond that, these CORN CAKES can go by many different names: johnnycake, journey cake, johnny bread, hoecake, cornmeal pancakes or Shawnee cake. Some people also call them corn fritters. We decided to cut to the chase – they’re perfectly perfect CORN CAKES.
Here’s the deal on making this CORN CAKES RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS
We’re posting two photos of the ingredients you’ll need to make light, fluffy CORN CAKES. This first photo shows everything you’ll need to make a really good pancake batter. This go-to batter mixture contains eggs, butter, milk and baking powder, all of which give our cakes a light fluffy texture.
UPGRADE
This next photo shows four ingredients we added to upgrade the mix. Adding fresh sweet corn, Gruyère, a finely diced jalapeño and chopped fresh herbs delivers so much flavour to these CORN CAKES, we know you’ll love them as much as we do. Of course, this recipe is open to interpretation, so make it your own. Not a fan of fresh corn? Try making them using zucchini, shaved onion or grated apple. Like all kinds of cheese? This recipe will work with cheddar cheese, Parmesan, havarti or mozzarella. Same thing with the tablespoon or two of fresh herbs: chives sure do work but so do freshly chopped dill, parsley, basil and tarragon.
Use freshly shucked summer corn for best results.
FRESH SWEET CORN
This should come as no surprise, but these CORN CAKES are all about the corn. Corn has long been a favourite vegetable up here in cottage country. With fresh corn popping up at farm stands and markets, enjoying fresh corn kind of goes with the territory. Corn consists primarily of insoluble fibre, which makes it a low-glycemic index food so no spike in blood sugar. It also contains many B vitamins and essential minerals, including zinc, magnesium, copper, iron and manganese. It’s low in cholesterol and saturated fat, and one small ear of corn contains only 15 grams of carbohydrates.
First, we boil a couple of cobs of freshly picked corn. You read that right, no frozen or canned corn in sight. Head HERE for a list of sweet corn varieties you can ask for by name. You’ll need two cups of corn kernels for the recipe, and we suggest using freshly picked, locally grown corn. If a bit more ends up in the batter, no worries. Second corn moment in this recipe is adding coarse ground cornmeal. The cornmeal gives the pancakes more corn flavour, as well as a bit of texture. The final corn moment in this recipe was us swapping all-purpose flour with corn flour in the dry ingredients. Using corn flour gives the CORN CAKES an attractive light yellow colour as well as even more corn flavouring. Good news for those who need to hear this: these pancakes are gluten-free. Hurray!
PANCAKE BATTER
Creating the batter for the pancakes takes less than five minutes. There are a couple of tricks on making the batter, the first is having your eggs at room temperature before you begin. Room temperature eggs blend more easily with the other ingredients, forming a smooth, cohesive batter.
The next trick is more of a reminder. After melting the butter into the milk and sugar and leaving it to cool, incorporate it in with the rest of the batter ingredients and let the finished batter sit for 15 minutes. That rest period gives the cornmeal and corn flour a chance to absorb most of the liquid for a light fluffy result.
GRIDDLE
As mentioned, you can cook these pancakes in a large skillet on stovetop or, on a grill with a griddle insert. We made ours on our SLATE, 30-inch rust-resistant griddle from Weber Grills. Cooking cakes this way with just a tiny bit of neutral oil like canola, vegetable oil or avocado oil on a large flat surface yields light golden brown pancakes with tender moist centres and crispy, almost crunchy, edges. If preparing these pancakes on a griddle, set the right side of the griddle to low heat. You can transfer cooked pancakes to keep warm on this side which is way easier than fiddling with parchment paper, baking sheet and a hot oven in the kitchen. Keep it simple.
FLUFFY
Please take a moment to watch the VIDEO attached to this post. There’s one spot in particular where we do a close-up of a CORN CAKE being flipped. As soon as the cake is flipped you’ll see how it puffs up on the griddle. Light, fluffy pancakes were always the goal with this recipe and we’re happy to report we nailed it. Perfect!
SERVE
We really want this recipe to be one that ends up on everyones “make again and again list”. To that end, we purposefully tried to keep everything uncomplicated. Having a favourite maple syrup, whether plain or spicy, a pad of butter and some fresh fruit salad is all you need when you’re ready to serve. Because we focused this recipe on an ingredient that was in season, think seasonal when you toss up a simple fruit salad to go with. Try this FRESH FRUIT SALAD or just toss together blueberries, raspberries, peaches and nectarines. Simple is the way to go.
ENJOY
Enjoying these delicious CORN CAKES is as easy as making them. They’re best served straightaway moments after they come from the skillet or off the griddle. Add butter, syrup and a spoonful of fruit salad and you’re ready to go. If you want bacon with your cakes, go HERE! If you’re serving them as a side paired with a salad and a favourite main course, add a dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions. They also taste fab topped with our PEACH SALSA or CHIMICHURRI. Serving them as a side makes for a refreshing change from potatoes, rice or pasta.
This lovely seasonal treat is so perfect, we suggest you PIN it to a favourite breakfast, brunch or side dish board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make it too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the delicious dishes you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
Corny, cheesy taste sensations with every bite, this CORN CAKE RECIPE is a keeper. Enjoy!
Cook Mode Use cook mode to keep your screen on while cooking.
Ingredients
For the corn cakes:
¾ cup coarse grind cornmeal
½ cup corn flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
drizzle of neutral oil like canola, vegetable or avocado oil to cook the pancakes
For the upgrade:
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh herb like: chives, dill, basil, thyme, parsley
To serve:
butter
maple syrup
fresh fruit salad
Directions
Preheat griddle or large skillet to moderate or medium-high, 425°F.
Place milk, butter and sugar in small pan. Heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt together in a large measure. Create a well in the centre of the dry mix. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl, then spill eggs into the well in the large measure. Add the the milk and butter mixture. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Add these optional ingredients for the upgrade: corn, cheese, jalapeño and fresh herbs. Stir to combine.
Cook corn cakes: Drizzle some oil onto the griddle or pan. When the oil is shimmering, add dollops of corn cake batter, about 1/4 cup, onto griddle. Cook until golden on the bottom and bubbles appear along the edges. Flip and cook other side for about a minute, until lightly browned.
Transfer to low-heat side of grill until all the cakes are cooked.
Serve with butter, maple syrup and fresh fruit salad.
Until Cottage Season
