Sweet Corn Pancakes

There are just some recipes that stick in your brain until you absolutely must make them. Sweet corn pancakes was one of those recipes for me. Especially in the summertime, I’m always looking for something to do with the bushels (and bushels) of corn I am lugging home from the farmers’ market. There’s always so much of it, and when it’s at its peak it is always excellent.

I suggest making this with raw corn when it’s at its peak, but frozen corn would be completely fine, too. We want to have the corn raw, though. It will cook along with the pancakes, which lets their texture and sweetness turn out perfectly.

Conceptualizing this recipe was a tricky one, since Hoe Cakes are a known and loved style of corn pancake. I wanted these to be corn-y, but along the lines of a butter milk pancake, with a soft fluffy center and crispy edges that come with griddling out your pancakes in just the right amount of butter, low and slow. This meant I’d be leaning much more into all-purpose flour instead of cornmeal, and that the corn would have to be pulsed into the recipe, instead of kept whole.

Pancakes are a tricky thing, since everyone has a different preference. In my cookbook I make them salty, lacey and small. In this recipe I decided to cater to the fluffy, give-me-cake-for-breakfast crowd. Which is a completely legitimate crowd. Keep being you.

I hope what you’re left with is a fluffy, crispy-edged corn delight that will make breakfast feel summery and fun. It’s a good lakehouse breakfast, and I vote you give your most ambitious friend the task of making the corn brown butter.

Ingredients for these sweet corn pancakes

The ingredients for these pancakes use a lot of repeats, so while the list looks long, it’s all the same baking staples you usually have on hand!

For the pancake batter:

• 2 ears of corn, or 2 cups of kernels, 290 grams
• 1 cup milk of choice, 240 mL
• 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt, 115 grams
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 50 grams
• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 210 grams

For griddling:

• 2 tablespoons salted butter, plus more as needed
• 1/2 cup salted butter, 113 grams

For the corn brown butter:

• 1 ear of corn, or 1 heaping cup of corn kernels, 145 grams
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt, such as Maldon

For serving:

• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar 55 grams

Tips for making the corn brown butter

The corn brown butter spread is a fun topping for these sweet corn pancakes. The thing is it can take a bit of time to make, but it’s worth it!

My one big tip is to go low and slow. If you crank the heat up to fast, you run the risk of the corn in the pan popping, splashing hot butter, and causing chaos. It might seem like it is taking the butter forever to fizz and foam and get brown, but keep stirring and eventually it will get there for you! The corn will then be injected with flavor, so everyone else will thank you for the time you put in!

FAQs

And that’s it for these sweet corn pancakes! If you make them, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Sweet Corn Pancakes with Corn Brown Butter

5 | 5 reviews

Instead of using cornmeal like the hoecakes or Johnnycakes you may be familiar with, these sweet corn pancakes rely on the corn itself. Blending the corn directly into the batter gives you a sweet, fluffy, tender pancake. And griddling them in butter gives you those irresistibly crispy edges.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 10 -12 pancakes

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Equipment

• ▢
  1 small blender or food processor
• ▢
  1 large sauté pan

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 ears of corn, or 2 cups of kernels, 290 grams
• ▢ 1 cup milk of choice, 240 mL
• ▢ 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt, 115 grams
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 50 grams
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 210 grams

For griddling:

• ▢ 2 tablespoons salted butter, plus more as needed

For the corn brown butter:

• ▢ 1/2 cup salted butter, 113 grams
• ▢ 1 ear of corn, or 1 heaping cup of corn kernels, 145 grams
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt, such as Maldon

For serving:

• ▢ 1/4 cup turbinado sugar, 55 grams

Instructions 

1. Slice the corn kernels off the cob and add them to a blender with 1 cup of milk. Blend for 15 seconds or until mostly smooth, but there will still be some corn texture. Pour this into a large bowl.
2. Whisk in the 115 grams of Greek yogurt, 1 large egg, and 50 grams granulated sugar until smooth. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 210 grams of all-purpose flour. Mix into a batter.
3. Place a skillet over medium-low heat and grease the pan with butter. Scoop 1/3 cup of batter to make one pancake. Griddle for 2-3 minutes on each side. This will yield 10-12 pancakes.
4. To make the corn brown butter, add 113 grams of butter to a medium sauté pan. Add the 145 grams of corn kernels. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes or until the butter is golden on the edges and the corn is starting to pop. Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes before adding it to a food processor. Pulse until mostly smooth, but leave some corn texture. Either chill in the fridge or let this cool at room temperature until softened. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of flaky salt.
5. To serve, encourage everyone to top the pancakes with corn butter and a sprinkling of turbinado sugar. But of course, your own preferred way is always the best way!