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Prep time
20 minutes
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Cook time
1 hour 5 minutes
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makes
one 8x8-inch pan
Author Notes
Cornbread is sooo 2020. This is the year of corn mochi cake! This snack slash appetizer slash dessert cake is dense and chewy, with a crackly cheese crust, and pops of sweet corn kernels running throughout. Mild chile flakes, like gochugaru or Aleppo pepper, add fragrance more than heat. If you don’t have either, use freshly ground black pepper instead. Mochi cake isn’t a cake in the same way as a fluffy angel’s food or a buttery pound cake—because there’s no worrying about precise leavening, measuring, whipping, or folding. I think of it more as a pudding thickened by glutinous sweet rice flour. This means there’s a lot of room to groove. Check out my off-script guide to mochi cake, then riff to your heart's content. Don’t know where to find glutinous sweet rice flour? Check your local Asian grocery or online. —Sohla El-Waylly
Watch This Recipe
Cheesy Corn Mochi Cake
Ingredients
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¼ cups
(57 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for the pan
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1 cup
(80 grams) finely grated Pecorino
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1 teaspoon
mild chile flakes, such as gochugaru or Aleppo
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5 to 6
corn cobs, shucked and silk removed
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¾ cups
(170 grams) sour cream
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2
large eggs
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½ cups
plus 2 tablespoons (124 grams) granulated sugar
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1¾ teaspoons
kosher salt
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2 cups
(254 grams) glutinous sweet rice flour, preferably Koda Farms Blue Star Mochiko
Directions
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Heat the oven to 350°F. Brush an 8x8-inch brownie pan with butter. In a small bowl, toss together the Pecorino and chile flakes. Transfer ½ cup of this mixture to a bowl and set aside for later. Coat the sides and bottom of the buttered pan with the remaining cheese mixture.
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Using a sharp knife, shave the corn kernels off the cobs. Measure out 2 cups of corn. (If you have a little extra, add it to the batter as well. This cake is forgiving.) Use the back of the knife to scrape any corn milk left in the shaved cobs and add it to kernels.
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In a blender, puree 1 cup of corn kernels with the sour cream and ¼ cup of the reserved cheese mixture until combined.
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In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and melted butter until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar, salt, and corn puree and whisk until combined. Add the rice flour and whisk until combined. Add the reserved 1 cup of corn kernels and, using a spatula, stir to combine.
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Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Evenly sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup cheese mixture on top. Bake until deeply browned and the cake bounces back when gently pressed in the center, 55 to 65 minutes. Cool at least 15 minutes before inverting and serving. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
Sohla El-Waylly is a Food52 Resident, sharing new riffable recipes every month that'll help you get creative in the kitchen. Watch her cook on YouTube in her new series, Off-Script With Sohla. Before she started developing fun recipes for home cooks, she worked as a chef in N.Y.C. and L.A., briefly owning a restaurant in Brooklyn with her husband and fellow chef, Ham El-Waylly. She lives in the East Village with Ham, their two dogs, and cat. Find out what else she's up to on Instagram @sohlae
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