Sweet Corn Cake (Chi Chi's CopyCat)

This is one of my all time favorite foods. It's just so sweet and delicious. It used to be on the menu at Chi Chi's Mexican restaurant but the restaurant is now closed. I found this recipe in Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilber, who is a copy cat genius in my opinion. All of the recipes I've tried of his are wonderful. This one is no exception. Don't let the "water bath" scare you off. It helps keep this dish moist and soft. The only ingredient that may require a bit of searching is the masa harina, a Mexican corn flour. The Wal-Mart here carries it as does the local grocery store, so hopefully it's easy to find everywhere. Believe me, it's worth the effort!

Sweet Corn Cake

1/2 stick butter, softened

1/3 masa harina

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream (half and half works too)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter in a medium bowl until creamy. Add masa harina and water to butter and mix until well combined.

Place defrosted corn into a blender or food processor with short pulses, coarsely chop on low speed, leaving several whole kernels of corn. Stir chopped corn into butter mixture. Add cornmeal. Combine well.

In another bowl, combine sugar, cream, salt and baking powder. Pour mixture into butter mix and stir by hand.

Pour mixture in an ungreased 8 x 8 baking dish and flatten top out with a spoon. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Place pan into a larger baking pan filled about 1/3 of the way with hot water. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until cooked through. Remove corn cake pan from larger pan and let sit for 10 minutes. Serve.

"When we no longer have good cooking in the world, we will have no literature, nor high and sharp intelligence, nor friendly gatherings, no social harmony."

-Marie-Antoine Carême