Corn Pudding

My friend AD shared this family favorite recipe with me as part of a "send me one of yours and I'll send you one of mine" recipe swap.  She says, "This a new family favorite dish that has become a fall/Thanksgiving staple for us."

When someone raves about a recipe and recognizes that it is so good the family wants to have it every year for a holiday special, I know it needs to be put into my blog to keep it available for years to come.  Also, I love corn in many forms, so I knew I had to do this.

It is made with fresh corn, scraped off the cob on a grater, and I have no idea if it will be good with canned corn.  I waited to make it until I had fresh corn.  

Corn Pudding (4 to 6 servings)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

I think I should have husked and cleaned the corn before putting the buttered pan in the oven.

Cut butter into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F with the dish inside to melt the butter.

Use a box grater to grate the corn kernels into a large mixing bowl.  Combine the corn with sugar, cream, flour, and salt.  Lightly beat the eggs and add to the corn mixture.

When the oven is heated, carefully pour the melted butter into the corn mixture and combine with a few swift strokes.

Pour the mixture into the buttered baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 60 - 70 minutes.  It is done when a golden crust forms and the interior has set.

My Notes

I don't have an 8 x 8 glass baking dish, so I used my 6 x 10 1/2 dish, whose volume is very close to the 8 x 8's.  

I do not own a box grater so I used my flat grater.  Now I appreciate the value of the box grater, because the corn spattered a lot while grating.  After some practice, I managed to keep it off my shirt (mostly) and in the bowl (mostly).  

I estimate about 2 cups of juicy corn gratings, but I didn't measure it.

Sprinkling the sugar and the flour across the top seemed to minimize clumping.

Corn, salt, sugar, flour, cream

I had salted butter only so I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt into the mixture.

The butter was browned and a sizzling when the pan came out of the oven.  It took more than a "few" swift strokes, but I think I incorporated the hot butter into the batter well.

It smelled so good while it was baking!

The Verdict

It baked for 60 minutes.  A golden crust had formed and the middle had set.

After it cooled for about 10 minutes, I served it up.

The butter did a good job of keeping the pudding from sticking to the pan.

The pudding was very delicate and light in texture.  Very much like custard, but a bit heavier.  The crust was a little chewy, particularly on the edges.  It held together well and I ate it with a spoon.

The corn flavor came shining through.  I loved it!  The salt quantity was just right.  It was not too sweet, so that was also just right.

My guest taster and I both had a some in a bowl as dinner, as it was too hot of an evening to eat much more.  He had two servings.

This would be a perfect side dish for any roast meat or hearty stew.  

If it were bumped up with bacon bits and caramelized onions, it could be a main dish.  You would need to use a bigger pan.

Success!  I can see why AD's family wants it as a regular holiday special dish.  It is easy enough to make that I could see it being made more often than that, especially in the summer when fresh corn is abundant.

Thanks, AD!