DessertsEasyFree

Tortas de Elote Dulce (Mexican Sweet Corn Cakes)

Name: Tortas de Elote Dulce (Mexican Sweet Corn Cakes)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 100 g Butter; 1 tsp Vanilla extract; 6 Sweet corn cobs; 150 g Caster sugar; 1 tsp Baking powder; 120 ml Milk; 3 Eggs; 100 g Fresh crumbled cheese

55 min (15 prep + 40 cook) Easy 8 servings Nacional

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 24 Mar 2026 · Updated: 16 Apr 2026

Soft, spongy sweet corn cakes with butter, sugar and fresh cheese.

About this recipe

Soft, moist Mexican corn cakes made from blended sweet corn, butter, sugar, eggs and fresh cheese. A sweet-savoury dessert or afternoon treat with spongy texture.

History & Origin

Tortas de elote - not to be confused with the Mexican sandwich called torta - are a traditional Mexican dessert or snack that celebrates the seasonal sweet corn harvest. They are especially popular from July to September when new-crop corn is at its sweetest and most milky. Mexican sweet corn (harvested before fully mature) has a sweet flavour and milky texture that sets it apart from dried corn. When blended with butter, egg, sugar and fresh cheese, it creates a batter that bakes into something between a pudding and a sponge - moist, dense and deeply flavourful. In Mexican markets and fondas in corn-producing states - Sinaloa, State of Mexico, Guerrero, Oaxaca - tortas de elote are sold by the slice from clay dishes, warm and topped with a spoonful of soured cream. At village fairs and festivals, corn stalls sell these cakes as dessert. Their sweet-savoury flavour (thanks to the cheese) makes them unique in Mexican baking - a perfect example of the Mexican culinary philosophy of combining seemingly opposite flavours into something harmonious and addictive.

Estimated cost

£4.25

Total cost

£0.53

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

280

Calories

Protein

35g

Carbohydrates

14g

Fat

Fibre

280mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and flour a 23x23cm square tin or a 24cm round tin.
💡 You can also use a muffin tin for individual cakes.
2
Strip the kernels from 6 sweet corn cobs (or use 500g drained tinned or frozen corn kernels). Blend the kernels with 120ml milk until smooth.
💡 If the kernels are very sweet and milky, you may not need all the milk.
3
In a large bowl, beat 100g melted butter with 150g caster sugar until combined. Add 3 eggs one at a time, beating well.
4
Fold in the blended corn mixture, 100g crumbled fresh cheese (or cottage cheese), 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
💡 The fresh cheese gives the characteristic savoury note.
5
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 35–40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. The surface should be golden.
💡 Do not open the oven for the first 25 minutes or the cake will sink.
6
Leave to cool 10 minutes before turning out. Serve warm or at room temperature with soured cream and a pinch of cinnamon.