Fry

Corn Cakes with Lemon Chive Crème Fraiche

by:
August  4, 2011
4.3
3 Ratings
Corn Cakes with Lemon Chive Crème Fraiche
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

These little cakes will be the most addictive summer snack to hit your kitchens. They're crispy, sweet, and delicate. And since you add the corn raw, it cooks just barely, leaving the kernels perfectly crisp and fresh when you bite into the patties. —PhoebeLapine

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 4oz crème fraiche
  • 3 tbsp chopped chives (plus more for garnish)
  • ½ lemon, juiced
Directions
  1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the egg. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Fold in the corn and shallots.
  2. Coat a large skillet with oil and set it over high heat. When the oil is sizzling (you can flick some water into the pan to test this), add a tablespoonful of batter to the pan and press flat with the bottom of the spoon to form a flat, round cake. Work in batches, making sure not to crowd the pan, and cook each cake for about a minute per side, until brown and crispy. Remove to a paper towel to drain, and repeat with the additional batter.
  3. (NOTE: you can fry the cakes the night before and bake them off at 350 degrees before serving, until each cake is browned and heated through.) In the meantime, combine the crème fraiche, chives, and lemon in a small bowl. Season with salt to taste.
  4. Allow the cakes to cool slightly, otherwise the creme fraiche will become liquid. To serve, top each cake with a dollop of sauce and sprinkle with chives.
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  • PhoebeLapine
    PhoebeLapine
  • boulangere
    boulangere
PhoebeLapine
Phoebe is a writer, gluten-free chef, culinary instructor, award-winning blogger, and author of The Wellness Project. You can find her healthy comfort food and gluten-free finds on www.FeedMePhoebe.com

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7 Reviews

PhoebeLapine
PhoebeLapine August 15, 2011
Hi boulangere! Sorry for the delayed response to your questions. I use olive oil for the skillet, but vegetable oil works as well. I've also done about tablespoon of oil and a tablespoon of butter combined. All have worked great. I'd recommend a 12 to 15 inch cast iron skillet. Enough oil to coat/film it.

Making them the night before means start to finish. You reheat the remade cakes in the oven.

yes, "cool" is correct! That was a typo!

Thanks for trying the recipe!
 
boulangere
boulangere August 15, 2011
Thanks, that helps.
 
boulangere
boulangere August 13, 2011
One more question. When you say, "you can make the cakes the night before and bake them off at 350 degrees before serving," does that mean they can be shaped the night before and held in the fridge, or fried the night before?
 
boulangere
boulangere August 13, 2011
Another question: oil for the skillet isn't in the ingredients list. What kind do you prefer? To "coat", is that the same as to "film"? What size skillet do you recommend? 6", 10"?
 
boulangere
boulangere August 13, 2011
I'm testing these this week, and I am guessing that step 4 should read, "cool slightly" rather than "cook slightly." They've already been cooked, right?
 
boulangere
boulangere August 4, 2011
You had me at the cakes.
 
boulangere
boulangere August 4, 2011
Crème fraîche icing thereon.