Pan de Elote is a traditional corn bread made in Monterrey, Mexico. When you walk through fairs or street markets, you will invariably find the Pan de Elote vendor displaying golden loaves of sweet bread. The shapes vary - they can be the regular rectangular loaf shape, or they can be round or even individual sized. Some have pecans, some have cajeta, and they are all sweet and delicious.
There are so many ways to make Pan de Elote that it really comes down to each cook’s choice. I have collected recipes from many of my friends and they all are slightly different. Some have more flour, some have less; some have condensed milk, some only regular milk; some have more eggs than others, but all of them are made with fresh corn, and all are made in the blender, which makes this a no-fuss dessert.
Some people make their bread sweet, some people make it more on the savoury side. My version resembles a pudding more than a bread, making it a decadent, yet easy-to-make dessert that comes together very quickly.
In the region around Monterrey, pecan trees are abundant, so we tend to include this ingredient in many desserts. For me, corn bread has to have pecans somewhere - whether in the dough, or sprinkled on top. My version of Pan de Elote is presented generously drizzled with cajeta and chopped toasted pecans. You could also top it with a dollop of whipped cream or even a scoop of ice cream, but I leave that up to you.
Make a batch of Pan de Elote and serve it to your friends on your next dinner party. They will fall in love with it. Provecho!
Pan de Elote estilo Monterrey
Corn Bread, Monterrey Style
3 ½ - 4 cups fresh corn kernels, from 4-6 ears of tender corn
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs
¼ cup all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
¾ cup melted unsalted butter + 2 Tbsp more for greasing pans
Garnish:
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup cajeta
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut kernels off ears of corn to measure 3 ½ - 4 cups. In blender container, place corn, condensed milk, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and salt. Blend until combined. Add melted butter and process a bit more, but it should not be completely smooth, it should have texture.
Line pans with parchment paper (2 - 8 x 8 pans, pie plates or loaf pans). Place 1 Tbsp butter in each of the two pans. Place pans in oven and heat butter for 5 minutes. Bring pans out and slowly pour half of the mixture in each pan, so butter does not splatter. Place pans in the oven and bake from 45-60 minutes, or until tester inserted in centre comes out clean.
Let corn bread cool in pan for about 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature, topped with chopped pecans and drizzled with cajeta.
Serves 10-12
This recipe was first featured at www.thelatinkitchen.com