30 small cakes SERVINGS
Ingredients
For the drizzle:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup sorghum
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
For the corn cakes:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears)
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons madras curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 6 scallions, chopped
- Corn oil for panfrying
Directions
To make the drizzle:
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
- Add the sorghum, lime zest, and juice and stir until combined.
- Keep warm until ready to use.
To make the corn cakes:
- Heat the butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat until it foams.
- Add the corn and cook over medium-high heat until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, curry, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Whisk the buttermilk and eggs in a medium bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture and whisk until well combined. Fold in the corn and scallions.
- Heat 1 teaspoon corn oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add about a tablespoon of batter for each corn cake to the pan and cook, flipping once, until crisp and golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
- Transfer the cakes to paper towels to drain, then keep warm on a baking sheet in a 200 degrees Fahrenheit oven while you make the remaining corn cakes.
- Transfer the corn cakes to a platter and serve with the warm sorghum-lime drizzle on top.
More from Smoke and Pickles:
- Okra Tempura Recipe
- Pork Cracklin' Recipe
- Fried Pickles Recipe
In Smoke and Pickles: Recipes and Stories from a New Southern Kitchen, Edward Lee delivers Southern cooking with an Asian twist! These recipes take a bold approach on traditional American cooking, resulting in exquisite dishes packed with amazing flavors. Readers of any culinary skill level can create flavorsome meals such as miso-smothered chicken, Kentucky-fried quail, and so much more! The following excerpt is from chapter 7, "Veggies and Charity."
Excerpted from Smoke and Pickles by Edward Lee (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2013. Photographs by Grant Cornett. PRINT RECIPE