Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes {Share the Love}
Had a wonderful girls lunch out at the Cheesecake Factory this past week. If you’ve ever been you know their menu is HUGE and everything sounds interesting and delicious. At our request, our server gave us a run down of her favorites from each category. She named Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes as one of her all time favorite appetizers, which was quickly seconded by the most experienced Cheesecake Factory veteran at the table. That was easy! Bring 5 forks please. Today I will use this recipe to try and lure my kid off the lake and into my kitchen.
The fact that 5 days later I am still thinking about Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes (said in the same manner that most guys say….Anna Kournikova) is a good indication of how amazing they were. Apparently I’m not alone on this one since my internet search for a recipe turned up a gazillion reposts of the copycat recipe I’m about to share, lightly adapted.
Warm buttery corn cakes, nestled on a blanket of Salsa Verde, dolloped with sour cream and Southwest Sauce, finished with Fresh Tomato Salsa, avocado, and fresh cilantro….say it with me Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes. I love you.
Well…there was the cheesecake.
Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes
Ingredients
Salsa Verde…
- 2 to matillos chopped (remove papery skin)
- 1 4 oz can mild green chilies
- 1 scallion chopped
- 3 Tbl. fresh cilantro
- 1 Tbl. granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- sea salt & fresh cracked pepper
Fresh Tomato Salsa…
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 1-2 Tbl. onion minced
- 1-2 Tbl. fresh cilantro minced
- 1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice
- ½ small fresh jalapeno minced
- dash salt
- dash ground black pepper
- dash cumin
Southwest Sauce…
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp. white vinegar
- 1 tsp. water
- ¾ tsp. granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- ¼ tsp. paprika
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp. onion powder
- dash salt
- dash garlic powder
Tamale Cakes…
- 1½ cups frozen sweet corn
- ½ cup 1 stick butter, softened
- 3 Tbl. granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- ½ cup corn masa corn flour
- 2 Tbl. all-purpose flour
Garnish…
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ avocado chopped
- 2 Tbl. fresh cilantro coarsely chopped
Instructions
Salsa Verde…
- Combine all ingredients (tomatillos, green chilies, scallion, cilantro, sugar, cumin, salt, and pepper) in a food processor on high speed. Cover and chill.
Fresh Tomato Salsa…
- Combine all ingredients (diced tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno, cumin, salt, and pepper) in a small bowl. Cover and chill.
Southwest Sauce…
- Combine all ingredients (mayonnaise, vinegar, water, sugar, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, onion powder, salt, and garlic powder) in a small bowl. Cover and chill.
Tamale Cakes…
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Prepare the tamale cakes by chopping 1 cup frozen corn in a food processor until it’s coarsely pureed. Combine pureed corn with softened butter, sugar, and salt. Blend well with electric mixer or by hand until smooth.
- Add masa and flour and blend well.
- Mix in the remaining ½ cup of frozen corn kernels by hand.
- Measure ½ cup portions of the mixture and form it into 3″ wide patties with your hands (it’s a little tricky getting them to stay in patty form…just squeeze them together). I made 6 patties. Will definitely double the corn cake portion of the recipe next time.
- Arrange the patties on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cakes are browned on the bottom.
- Carefully flip all cakes with a spatula and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until other side is browned.
Presentation…
- While the cakes are baking, spoon a portion of the salsa verde onto a plate or platter (you may want to heat up your plate in the oven for a bit to help warm the sauce).
- You’ll need to use enough salsa verde to coat the entire plate — it should be about ¼” deep.
- Arrange the tamale cakes side-by-side on the salsa verde. Spoon a dollop of sour cream onto each tamale cake.
- Spoon some tomato salsa over the cakes, followed by the chopped avocado.
- Drizzle the southwestern sauce over the cakes in a crisscross patter (use a squirt bottle if you’ve got one).
- Finish off the plate by sprinkling the coarsely chopped cilantro leaves over the top.
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16 Comments
Jo Ann lewallen
LOVE Mexican food !!!! Learning to cook it with the help of some great Mexican friends. This is something I’ve never seen before , but you can bet I’ll be trying it soon. Looks so delicious !!!!!
libby
Hi Jo Ann. I’m with you on Mexican dishes, love them. Be prepared to fall in love with these corn cakes too. They are mighty tasty. Thank you for stopping by. Libby
Jennica
I have had this recipe twice now and LOVE IT! Flavorful and filling, it looks like a lot if work but its worth it. Two Forks Up!
libby
We definitely share a love for this recipe. So delicious!!
nettie moore
These look incredible, I love tamales so I know this would be great!
libby
Thanks Nettie. Make these. Double the amount of Sweet Corn Cakes in the recipe. You’ll have plenty of Verde & Salsa to go with them AND you’ll make that many more people happy. Thank you for coming by. xo Libby
Melissa @Red, White and Blueberries
Boy this is just so darn pretty! Thanks for dropping it by the Favorite Things Party!
libby
Melissa you will love these sweet corn tamale cakes. Trust me. I wanted to wrap them around everything I could think of. Have fun with them and enjoy. Libby
Debi at Life Currents
This looks great!!! And, a good way for me to use some of the tomatillos from my garden. They’re about to take over!!! :)
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
libby
Hi Debi, thanks for stopping by. Sometimes I dream about this recipe and the salsa verde is a star in this dish. Your tomatillos will thank you :) Let me know how you like it. Take care, Libby