Corn Pudding

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In: Dessert, Pantry Item, Retro Foods, Side Dish, Summer Foods

I think for most Americans, this is considered a side dish that shows up on a big buffet or Thanksgiving table and it is not really considered a dessert – just one of those casserole-type dishes that have either marshmallows or streusel toppings. However, in Gma’s house, this was definitely a dessert as its main ingredients were canned kernel corn AND creamed corn (sweet in nature, sweet in process, baked with butter and sugar) and jiggled like a good custard should. The original recipe she used was a quick pantry-friendly one – in fact, I think Gma used the recipe on the box of Argo cornstarch. It was also one of those wonderful “accidental dishes” that also showed up when she either bought a can of creamed corn by mistake or found one at the back of that magical pantry. Aside from this pudding, we never ate creamed corn on its own.

The original recipe is a warm, sturdy custard that guilds the sweetness of corn. The best part of it was if it was slightly overcooked, a caramel effect happened on the edges of the baking dish which resulted in a true form of candy corn.

Corn Pudding – The Original

  • 5 large eggs
  • ⅓ cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup milk
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
  • 2 (14.75 ounce) cans cream-style corn
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
  2. Whisk eggs lightly in a large bowl. Add milk, melted butter, sugar, and cornstarch; whisk until well combined. Stir in drained corn and cream-style corn until fully blended. Pour mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 1 hour.

The Alternative Recipe

I still crave the “essence” of this pudding during the summer, but the original is just a bit too sweet and custardy for my current tastes. While we never had it in Gma’s kitchen, I’ve become fond of this version which comes from another boxed pantry item (Jiffy Cornbread Mix) but with less eggs and more fat. Despite the addition of the dry ingredients, this recipe produces a very rich, smooth pudding-like consistency, not crumbly or gritty. Just be sure to use a fine ground cornmeal

  • 1 pound frozen corn
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup (2½ ounces) all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup (1⅔ ounces) cornmeal
  • ¼ cup (1¾ ounces) sugar
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 8-inch square baking dish. Combine corn and ¼ cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave until corn is tender, about 7 minutes. Drain corn in a colander.
  2. Combine cream and 1½ cups corn in a blender and process until coarse puree forms, about 30 seconds. Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in a large bowl. Whisk sour cream, melted butter, egg, pureed corn mixture, and remaining corn together in a separate bowl. Whisk sour cream mixture into flour mixture until combined. Transfer the batter to a prepared dish.
  3. Bake until the edges of the pudding are lightly browned and the top is slightly puffed, about 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving