Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes
"This is a copycat recipe from the Cheesecake Factory. It is a "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes" authored by Todd Wilbur. I haven't made this yet, but it sounds very good. I think this will be a very easy recipe to prepare. Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. there are three simple sauces that are part of this recipe. If you try this before I do, please review it and let me know how it turned out. Prep time is a guesstimation."
photo by pjpo98
- Ready In:
- 1hr 7mins
- Ingredients:
- 32
- Yields:
-
4 Corn Cakes
- Serves:
- 4
ingredients
-
SALSA VERDE
- 2 tomatillos, chopped (remove papery skin)
- 4 ounces mild green chilies
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, fresh
- 1 1⁄4 teaspoons ground cumin
- salt & fresh ground pepper
-
TOMATO SALSA
- 1 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon Spanish onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, fresh minced
- 1⁄4 teaspoon lime juice
- 1⁄2 jalapeno, small minced
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
-
SOUTHWESTERN SAUCE
- 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon water
- 3⁄4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon paprika
- 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1⁄8 teaspoon onion powder
- salt
- garlic powder
-
TAMALE CAKES
- 1 1⁄2 cups corn, sweet frozen
- 1⁄2 cup butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 cup masa harina (corn flour)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-
GARNISH
- 1⁄4 cup sour cream
- 1⁄2 avocado, chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, fresh chopped
directions
- Prepare SALSA VERDE by combining all ingredients in a food processor on high speed. Cover and chill.
- Prepare TOMATO SALSA by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.
- Prepare SOUTHWESTERN SAUCE by combining all ingredients is a small bowl. Cover and chill.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- For the TAMALE CAKES coarsely puree 1 cup of the frozen corn in a food processor.
- Combine pureed corn with softened butter, sugar and salt.
- Blend well with electric mixer until smooth.
- Add masa and flour and blend well.
- Mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of frozen corn by hand.
- Measure 1/2 cup portions and form into 3-inch patties.
- arrange patties on a baking sheet and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes are browned on the bottom.
- Carefully flip cakes with a spatula and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until other side is browned.
- While the cakes are baking, spoon some Salsa Verde onto a platter.
- Coat the entire plate with about 1/4 in of the salsa.
- Arrange the Tamale Cakes on the Salsa Verde.
- Spoon a dollop of sour cream on to each cake.
Questions & Replies
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Made the Tamale Cakes and was stunned with the result. Should the corn meal have been cooked first? This was like eating Grape Nut patties -- gritty, mealy, hard and without much flavor (except for the butter -- way too much butter). This was a real disappointment.
Reviews
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I made this for a church activity and I had so many people coming up to me and complimenting me on this dish! Even going as far to say that if this were a contest your dish would definitely win. ;) I will for sure be making this again. Thanks for sharing! -
Oh me, oh my! We made these for Father's Day today, hoping they'd be even 1/2 as good as the Cheesecake Factory's "real deal." We were thrilled to find that they're just as good, if not better ('cause we can keep adding more of our favorite sauces and salsas!) Definitely double the corn cake recipe; we have tons of sauces/salsas left over.
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I made this about a year ago and decided to look it up and make it again for some food photography. The sweet cake and spices are great. The sauces are surprisingly mild, but then I cut the jalepeño to not use the tip or white parts inside. We have found that you must serve the cakes piping hot. If they start to cool down (which happens on a cool plate in cool sauces), the cake loses it's punch. The hot and cool and about as important as the sweet/spicy, creamy crunchy. Instead of 4 cakes, I make 6 smaller cakes and there is still too much southwestern sauce and salsa verde. You could easily double the cake and tomato salsa portions to get 8-12 cakes. -
I loved these corn cakes. I didn't make any of the sauces since I already had some sauce I wanted to use the rest of. Instead of baking the corn cakes, I cooked them in a pan like pancakes. I thought they were awesome. My husband didn't really care for them, but that's ok. -
I have made this several times, both for family meals and for guests, well received by all. All of our children have made this recipe part of their family meal rotation. Beside tasting very good, it has an appealing plate/platter appearance.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Happy Hippie
Spring Valley, California
I live in beautiful San Diego where there's never nothin to do. We almost never have days where you can't get outdoors. For fun I love to read, cook, take road trips with my grandson, whom I raise. Take long walks along the beach, bays and lakes. My live in grandson is 12 and the light of my life. I've been teaching him to fish, or should I say I'm exposing him to lake fishing, the people we meet along the way are teaching him while I read and watch. He's dying to go ocean fishing, that one makes me a bit more nervous, but we'll start that soon, probably from piers to start. Nick's only one of my grandchildren though, I have a total of 13, three live in Kansas, the land of Oz. The last time I visited them, it was Christmas time and when I stepped off the plane, the cold air took my breath away and standing there waiting for me in a short-sleeved T-shirt, was my son-in-law. Needless, to say, I spent many days there staying indoors praying for the day I could get back to sunny California -- I never had to endure snow the whole time, thank God! Twenty degrees daily was way out of my comfort zone by a very large margin. There truly is no place like home. I have 8 other grandchildren that are fortunate enought to live in San Diego too. We spend weekends doing things together such as taking in the zoo, wild animal park, Sea World, Knotts Soak City water park (summer), museums, fishing, picknicking and just hanging out. They all love to help grandma cook in the kitchen. I have many cookbooks and can read them like I'd read a novel. My passions are my family, my two boston terriers, Tuffy and Oreo, and gardening, cooking and reading -- oh yeah, I'm totally addicted to Zaar. I don't really have many pet peeves, but a biggie is mean, obnoxious people and those who think they know it all, and liars, I can pick out a deceitful person it an instant. If you can't trust someone, then nothings worth salvaging in the relationship. I hate those who disrespect the environment (no I'm not a tree hugger) but I do hate to see people litter and fail to do simple things such as picking up after themselves in the outdoors such as parks and beaches, and how easy is it to recycle? It's really not too difficult to make an impact on the environment if everybody takes responsibility for their "trash."
