Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes {Share the Love}

Libby Zappala — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 18:44:38 +0000

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

Warm buttery corn cakes, nestled on a blanket of salsa verde, dolloped in sour cream and southwest sauce, finished with diced tomato salsa, avocado, and fresh cilantro….say it with me Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mexican

Author by Happy Hippie, lightly adapted

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.

Related Posts

Salsa Verde

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Southwest Sauce

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