Pastel De Elote (Mexican Sweet Corn Cake) is a popular & delicious Mexican dessert. Serve with cajeta, powder sugar, vanilla ice cream and it’ll be a hit!
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Mexican Corn Cake
Since I was little I’ve been obsessed with corn! My favorite way to eat it was just boiled or grilled with lime juice and hot sauce. Pastel De Elote (also known as Mexican Sweet Corn Cake) was naturally my favorite dessert.
This is a Corn Cake that has a beautiful soft crumb with lovely corn flavor. Which, as strange as that sounds, is rarer than you might think. And I’m speaking from experience here, having tried quite a few recipes over the years!
So I have to share this recipe with you that I’m sure you’ll love as much as I do. The cake is not super sweet so do feel free to use the suggested toppings if you like things sweet. It’s a wonderful combination of flavors!
♥️ xo, Ana
***This post was originally published on Dec 2015. It has been updated to be more helpful.
Do not confuse Pastel de Elote with “Pan” De Elote though. Pastel means cake in Spanish and pan means bread. This recipe is for corn cake and not corn bread.
Ingredients
This recipe calls for simple ingredients that most likely you already have in your pantry and refrigerator.
- The sugars – This recipe calls for both brown and white sugar
- Butter at room temperature
- 3 eggs
- Pure vanilla extract
- Corn oil
- All purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Kosher salt
- Half and half
- Cork Kernels – These can be frozen (thawed) or from a can.
**You’ll find the complete recipe and ingredient list in the card at the end.**
How to make Pastel De Elote
- Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees.
- Butter and flour a bundt cake pan (or 9 inch iron skillet) and set aside.
- In an electric mixer, cream the sugars and the butter. Add the eggs one at the time beating after each other to incorporate.
- Add the vanilla and oil.
- Over low speed, add the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add half & half and mix until smooth then fold in the corn.
- Pour mix over your prepared pan
- Bake for 27 to 32 minutes or until firm to the touch.
- Cool for a few minutes and serve warm with cajeta* (caramel sauce), whipped cream, strawberries, powder sugar and/or ice cream.
Ana’s Recipe Tips
- If you don’t want to eat it with a bunch of extra toppings, I highly recommend at least trying it with cajeta (caramel sauce) to add an extra touch of sweetness.
- You can also bake this Pastel De Elote in a 9 inch iron skillet. It’ll come out wonderful! Or individual small skillets for a more fun & individual presentation. Just start watching the baking time at an earlier time (like 20 minutes for the small skillets)
- How to Store
- On the counter – I don’t recommended to store it in the fridge. It is best to store cake for 1 to 3 Days at room temperature. This means on the counter, away from heat, and out of direct sunlight. Place in a plate or cake stand and cover with a glass dome or plastic wrap.
- Freezer – Wrap in plastic wrap or inside a freezer ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to serve, just remove the cake from the freezer and let it thaw on the counter.
Print Recipe:
Pastel De Elote (Sweet Corn Cake)
Ingredients
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter - at room temperature
- 3 eggs
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tablespoons corn oil
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons white flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup half and half
- 1 cup corn kernels - fresh or frozen (thawed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a bundt cake pan (or 9 inch iron skillet) and set aside.
- In an electric mixer, cream the sugars and the butter. Add the eggs one at the time beating after each other to incorporate.½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup white sugar, 4 tablespoons butter, 3 eggs
- Add the vanilla and oil.½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 ½ tablespoons corn oil
- Over low speed, add the flour, baking powder and salt.¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons white flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add the half & half and mix until smooth.½ cup half and half
- Fold in the corn and pour mix over your prepared pan.1 cup corn kernels
- Bake for 25 to 32 minutes or until firm to the touch.
- Cool for a few minutes and serve warm with cajeta* (caramel sauce), whipped cream, strawberries, powder sugar and/or ice cream.
Notes
- You can also bake this Pastel De Elote in a 9 inch iron skillet.
- I truly recommend using the cajeta/caramel sauce as it gives a very rich delicious flavor.
Your Private Notes
Nutrition
Made this for a holiday party and everyone loved it! Thanks for this corn cake recipe.
I tried this recipe and could not get it out of the Bundt pan. Finally with enough shaking the bottom half of the cake came out leaving the top half stuck in the pan firmly. I did butter and flour the pan, it just would not come out. Not to be defeated I made the recipe again the next day and this time put them in a muffin tin lined with cupcake papers. They came out beautifully! Fill the cupcakes about 3/4 full to allow room for rising. Bake until the pale top just starts to turn golden. Start watching them after about 18 minutes, mine took about 25 but my oven runs cool. I got 9 of the large cupcakes out of the recipe, you’d likely get a dozen of the normal size cupcakes. Very tasty, especially with dulce de leche!
We made this exactly as directed, and it was spectacular, a cake to rival any famous chef’ cake! Can’t wait to make it again!
This Pastel De Elote turned out delicious! It was easy to make and turned out perfectly sweet. Thanks for the recipe!
I just make this cake and my husband attacked it! It’s excellent!!!
I didn’t have half and half or whole milk, or heavy cream, so I substituted evaporated milk. I melted 1 tbsp of butter in a glass measuring cup, then poured evaporated milk over top until it measured 1/2 Cup.
Will be making again, and again, and again! Thanks for recipe. Next time I will try it with half and half😃
I replaced the flour and baking powder with a box jiffy corn muffin mix. Also added about 1/4/can of condensed milk in place of the white sugar. came out perfect
Oh I like the changes!! I may try that next time. Thanks Leslyn!
Oh Ana… I just loved this… and so did my neighbors. Muchas gracias! So easy to prepare. I used fresh, white sweet corn… and rather than creating Cajeta from scratch, I substituted high quality, store-bought caramel sauce which I combined with whole, plain yogurt (to taste). Warmed it… very nice… and saved a lot of time. Thanks again. I’ll make this MANY more times!
Hi Chuck! Oh I love what you did with it! The addition of the plain yogurt sounds fantastic! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback and I’m so happy you liked it! Have a fabulous day.
A delicious and moist Mexican cake made with fresh sweet corn kernels and sweetened with condensed milk. A traditional recipe from the state of Jalisco.
Thank you Ladyjorns! I agree this paste de elote is delicious! I didn’t know it was a traditional recipe from Jalisco. Good to know!
The corn releases bursts of juicy goodness in every bite….
I love this recipe absolutely.
Great way to put that Chinazor! So true about the corn kernels releasing from flavor. Thanks for the feedback!
Que rico y facil se ve!!!! Gracias Ana!!
Muchas gracias Malena a ti!!! Que tengas un lindo dia!
I just prepared this delicious recipe and the smell of it baking in the oven brought back memories of my childhood. My mom used to bake this type of pastel de elote during the holidays. I’m so excited to bake this for her! The only addition I made to this was a little bit of zest from on orange. Truly a delight.. thank you!
Oh I love hearing this Cindy! Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful memory. I do agree the smell is amazing while it bakes. I’m so happy that it brought good memories. Have a lovely day!