Next weekend, we'll have houseguests. Like a true food lover, I am already planning the menu for the meals we'll have together. Houseguests give us the opportunity to stretch the usual bill of fare. I use weekends as an excuse for making a more leisurely breakfast than the rushed weekday version, so I plan to serve a relaxed morning meal on Saturday. And, with fresh sweet corn overflowing the bins at the market, I will certainly be making one of my favorites--these corn pancakes with a terrific berry maple sauce. Blackberries have a deep purple deliciousness that seems perfect for this time of year, but blueberries (or a mixture of the two) work well, as well. (PHOTO BY BEN FINK)
Corn Hotcakes with Blackberry Syrup
Makes 12 pancakes, 4 to 6 servings
Blackberry Syrup
1 pint blackberries, blueberries, or a combination
1 ½ cups maple syrup
Corn Hotcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stoneground
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups fresh corn kernels, cut from about 3 ears of corn, divided
1 ½ cups whole milk
2 large eggs
Vegetable oil for the griddle
Softened butter for serving
1. To make the blackberry syrup, combine the berries and syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the berries are tender and have given off their juices, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
2. To make the pancakes, preheat the oven to 200°F. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl to combine. In a blender, process 1 cup of the corn kernels and the milk until the corn is puréed. Add the eggs and pulse to combine. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir just until smooth. Fold in the remaining ½ cup corn kernels.
3. Heat a griddle over high heat until the griddle is very hot. (A sprinkle of water will evaporate immediately.) Lightly oil the griddle. Using ¼ cup of batter for each pancake, pour the batter onto the griddle. Cook until the tops of the pancakes are covered with bubbles, about 2 minutes. Turn the pancakes and cook until the undersides are golden brown, about 1 minute. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm until all of the pancakes are cooked.
4. Serve hot with the berry syrup and butter passed on the side.
Tags: berries , breakfast , maple syrup , pancakes
Rick Rodgers
| October 20, 2011 10:26 AM
No, I think you can go ahead as is. Let me know how they work. Thanks for checking in, Gregg.
Rick:
These corn cakes look fabulous--any modifications needed for using decent frozen corn instead?
Gregg