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!
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 🙂
Do not confuse Pastel de Elote with "Pan" De Elote though. Pastel means cake in Spanish and pan means bread. This recipe is definitely for corn cake and not corn bread.
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!
Suggested toppings: Cajeta (a must!), strawberries, whipped cream, powdered sugar, & ice cream.
How to make this 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.
- Fold in the corn and 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.
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)
As you can see, there is no right or wrong way to bake this cake!
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.
Try these Galletitas De Nuez (Mexican Wedding Cookies) for another delicious dessert!
Did you make this recipe!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below? Gracias!!!!
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
- 1.5 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.
- Add the vanilla and oil.
- Over low speed, add the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the half & half and mix until smooth.
- Fold in the corn and pour mix over your prepared pan.
- 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
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in July 2018. It was updated in January 2020 to revise the content and photographs. The original recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
Leslyn says
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
Ana Frias says
Oh I like the changes!! I may try that next time. Thanks Leslyn!
Chuck says
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!
Ana Frias says
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.
Ladyjorns.Com says
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.
Ana Frias says
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!
Chinazor says
The corn releases bursts of juicy goodness in every bite....
I love this recipe absolutely.
Ana Frias says
Great way to put that Chinazor! So true about the corn kernels releasing from flavor. Thanks for the feedback!
Malena says
Que rico y facil se ve!!!! Gracias Ana!!
Ana Frias says
Muchas gracias Malena a ti!!! Que tengas un lindo dia!
Cindy says
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!
Ana Frias says
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!