Pan de Elote is a sweet Mexican corn cake that’s soft, moist, and full of fresh corn flavor.
This traditional dessert is popular throughout Mexico and is often enjoyed with cafe de olla or as an afternoon treat.
The texture is somewhere between cornbread and cake, making it comforting, rich, and completely delicious.
🌽 Ingredients
- Butter
- All purpose flour
- Eggs
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Evaporated milk
- Vanilla extract
- 6 cups of corn kernels – either fresh or frozen
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cinnamon
✏️ Notes
- Many people refer to it as “pastel,” or “cake.” You will also hear it referred to as “Pastel de Elote.”
- I used only 1 tablespoon of baking powder in the pictures. The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons since most people like it thicker.
- The beauty of this recipe is that it uses pantry ingredients. However, if you don’t have any evaporated milk, substitute for regular milk. Half and half is ok, but I would not recommend using heavy whipping cream.
👩🏼🍳 Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare the baking pan by greasing it with butter and lightly coating it with flour. Or use parchment paper.
- Add butter, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla, and half of the corn to a blender or food processor.
- Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add the remaining corn and blend again until you reach your desired texture. Blend less for a chunkier texture or longer for a smoother cake.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Stir the dry ingredients together until evenly mixed.
- Pour the corn mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Fold until everything is fully combined and no dry flour remains.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool slightly before slicing and serving.
🫙 Storing Instructions
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 7 days in an airtight container. To freeze, place slices in a freezer-safe bag and remove as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
🙋🏻♀️ FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
No. Pan de Elote is sweeter, softer, and more cake-like than traditional cornbread.
Yes. Frozen or canned corn can work if fresh corn is unavailable.
Overmixing the batter or blending the corn too much can create a denser texture.
Reduce the baking powder to 1 tablespoon and follow the rest of the instructions and ingredients.
🍰 More Mexican Desserts
The sweet corn flavor and soft texture make it perfect for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack. Serve pan de elote warm with coffee or champurrado. You can enjoy it chilled straight from the fridge for an easy homemade treat.
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Did you make this recipe? Please rate the recipe below!
Pan de Elote (Mexican Sweet Corn Cake)
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter divided
- 1¾ cups of flour + 2 tablespoons flour divided
- 5 eggs
- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 6 cups corn (or 8 ears of corn, kernels removed)
- 2 tablespoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Butter the pan.
- Flour the pan using 2 tablespoons flour.
- Add remaining butter, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla, and half the corn to a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add the remaining corn and blend.
- For more corn texture, blend slightly.
- For less corn texture, blend until smooth.
- In a bowl, add 1¾ cups of flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Stir to combine.
- Mix the corn mixture with the dry ingredients.
- Stir until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
- For a 9 x 13 pan, bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 35 minutes.
- For a 8 x 8 pan, bake 350°F (175°C) for 25 to 35 minutes.
Nutrition
Hello,
Can I use a glass 9×13 pan for this if I don’t have a cast iron?
Yes, of course. The time is different though. For a 9 x13 pan, at 350°F (175°C): Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
Made this recipe 4 times now, love it every time!
It is all gone within a day of making it, family and my neighbors love it too!
Great recipe to share with others
Four times? That’s the best compliment! So happy everyone loves it.
I made this for a change for Christmas. Everyone loved it! It was easy to make, very moist and totally delicious. I’ll try it next as breakfast “muffins” for girls brunch get-together!
Yes! Moist and delicious, a winnning combination. Enjoy!
Truly a work of art, loved it we ate it warm sooo good!
Glad to hear that you and your family loved it!
Thank you for this recipe, and also for the alternative ingredients that can be used. Judging from the picture of the skillet, I thought a 9X9 pan might work, but found that the batter came nearly to the top edge. Fortunately, the cake didn’t rise too high to spill over the edge, but it didn’t get close to baking through in the 45 minutes given. A 9X13 would be better, but even that might not be big enough. I will try this again and see how it goes. Thanks again!
Thanks for letting us your experience. I edited the recipe to include time using different pans.
What size pan do you use?
I used a large cast iron skillet to make this Pan de Elote. It’s a great way to save time and how many dishes I have to clean.
Thank you! real Mexican taste, love it.
So glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorites.
I’ve made this several times, it’s wonderful
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Naomi!
What a fun bake!
Thanks! Hope you try it.
I would love this Pan de Elote for breakfast tomorrow! Looks really yummy
It’s delicious! Perfect for breakfast.
I just made this recipe. I made it in large size muffin tins which cooked in about 26 min. Soooo good! Better than my local panadaria. Probably a bit healthier too. Excellent recipe!
That’s so good to hear. Glad you liked this recipe!
The texture and flavor of this cake looks incredible! Love to give it try. It would be a nice change from the typical cornbread.
Hope you try it! It’s delicious.
This looks like a fun dessert recipe to try!
Fun and delicious!
This Mexican sweet corn cake is delicious
So glad you enjoyed this!
This sounds really sweet. I’d surely love to buy it while having a walk downtown and enjoy it slowly.
It’s delicious. Hope you try this recipe!
oh man!my husband’s family will be obsessed with this! i cant wait to share it with them!!
It’s one of my favorite recipes! Hope you try it!
This mexican sweet corn cake looks delicious I would love to try it.
This recipe is amazing! Hope you try it!
This sounds like an amazing alternative to cornbread! I love corn everything so I definitely want to try this.
Hope you try this recipe is delicious!
Have never tried making cornbread like this before. Such a unique recipe. Will try my hands on this.
Glad you enjoyed this! It’s amazing.
Anything that’s good with a morning cup of coffee I will take! This corn cake looks so good, and a fun way to get more veggies in our diet!
Hope you try it! It’s perfect for the morning cup.
So delish!
Glad you liked it!