I came across these little delights a few years ago in Eating Well Magazine. They’re quick to make and are especially good later in the summer when you can use corn cut fresh from the cob. Basil and corn cakes make a nice change from regular pancakes.
You can serve them as a side dish, or as part of a light meal with sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and onions. I’ve had them with sour cream and with raspberry jam, which was pretty darn tasty. You’ll want to use fresh basil for these.
We planted a bunch of herbs in our old lettuce bed so we’ll have basil, sage, thyme and parsley available to us during the summer. I will use dried herbs, but there’s really nothing like the flavor of fresh ones when you can use them. I used a large handful of fresh basil leaves sliced into thin ribbons to measure about a 1/2 cup.
If you have leftover corn on the cob, take two ears and cut the kernels off. I stand the ear on a small plate or baking sheet and cut the kernels with a knife. You should get about 1 cup of kernels from a good sized ear of corn. It’s possible to use frozen or canned corn to make the cakes. Make sure the corn is thawed and drained well. You may need to add a tablespoon of extra flour if there’s too much liquid. Frozen shoe peg corn is really good for these.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
- 2 cups corn kernels
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Mix the flour, milk, eggs, oil, baking power, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl.
- Stir in the corn and basil.
- Heat a little oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Measure about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake (I use a ladle).
- Cook on one side until the edges are nicely browned and the center begins to dry.
- Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through.
- Serve with sour cream, jam, whatever else you'd like.
PSSSST…looking for a low(er) carb version of basil and corn cakes? Look no further! Click on the image below:
How many serving is this?
It depends on how large you make the pancakes.
I get about a dozen. They are great frozen and reheated in the toaster oven. You might want to double the receipe if you want some left over. Single receipe works fine for just my wife and myself with a little fruit on the side–Think fresh strawberries.
These are wonderful. With a new crop of fresh sweet corn just appearing in our local stores will be just right for these. I’ve been making these since this receipe first came out. You don’t have to just use syrup and butter, You can eat them with just a little salt…Or salsa….Or hot sauce…Or jam…Or anything that strikes your fancy. Haven’t tried the fresh tomato sandwich yet but it sounds intriguing. Thanks for the Great Receipe.
Oh I like your suggestion of using salsa…sounds fabulous!
looks good..will try it out…
Thank you! If you get a chance please let me know how they turned out for you 🙂
I love the idea of adding basil to corncakes, I am such a basil freak lol. My kind of recipe, thanks for sharing such a great idea.
Yum! I can’t wait for my basil to be ready. I’m for sure going to give these a try 🙂
Fantastic and original idea for brunch! Love this.