Flossie Miles' Corn Pudding Souffle

 If you live on a farm, you learn that nothing is wasted.  I never lived on one for long.  My grandparents had a farm in South Carolina and my older sister and I used to spend the summer there before we moved to New York State.  After that, I think the driving distance was too far.  I only remember a few things about being there, but they are vivid memories.

One was shucking corn (which I thought was fun).  Another was the wood stove in the kitchen that frightened me, but my grandmother's food was excellent. This recipe for Corn Pudding is not from my grandmother.  It's from my older sister's mother-in-law.  She lived in West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountain area.

We try to get our family together for Thanksgiving each year.  As we are flung great distances apart, everyone doesn't always make it.  This year my sister made this wonderful dish.  It was so good that it was the only thing I specially asked for leftovers to take with me.

I also got the recipe for Flossie Miles' Corn Pudding Souffle.  It makes enough for a large crowd.  I only make half the recipe and it fills a 13-inch oblong glass dish.  Still, there is enough for several meals.

Simple Ingredients make for a great finished product

The ingredients are simple.  In addition to those above, flour or cornstarch and sugar are needed.  Also, you don't need two sticks of butter.  I had it out for more than one recipe.

I've also discovered the joys of pure vanilla in place of imitation vanilla.  If you want to put it behind your ears as a perfume substitute that's up to you, but in food the real stuff adds a better flavor.  Above I have the imitation because I was out of pure vanilla.

From my other posts you might know I like to use glass bowls.  For this I don't have a glass bowl large enough.  I'm not even sure they make one in the same size that I need.

Large bowl for mixing

I found the collection (5 in total) of metal bowls at a garage sale years ago and I love them.  While the large one is too big to keep in my kitchen, I'm often running up and down the basement stairs to retrieve it to mix something.


Begin by taking the butter and eggs out of the refrigerator and allow them to warm up to room temperature.


Whisk together the butter, milk, and vanilla until it's smooth and creamy.  Smooth and creamy, like time and space, are relative.  The butter will become small bits, but as every cook knows, unless you add heat or the centrifugal force of a strong mixer, butter will never completely dissolve and become smooth and creamy.    Don't worry about it.  The mixture will be homogenous and the oven will do its job to even it out.

This is as smooth and creamy as I could get it.

Add the sugar mixture.  I whisk as I pour in the sugar mixture.  I add it a little at a time, but that's just me.

Add the corn, both the cream and kernel corn at a ratio of 1:2 (cream to kernel).

 

The consistency should be that of cake batter with corn in it.

Add the other ingredients.  Remember it's either flour OR cornstarch (not both). Pour the mixture into a 13-inch oblong baking dish.  It's self leveling, so the pouring is the end.

 Bake for 40-60 minutes.  Like baking a cake, the center should not be loose when you shake or touch it lightly.  My grandmother used to touch it lightly with her fingers.  I don't suggest this because it's hot and it has sugar in it.  You could get what I call an attaching burn.  That's when sugar attaches to your skin and it feels like the burning is going deeper and deeper.  So be safe, just slide the pan slightly to see if the middle is solid.

Let stand after cooking.  The recipe says 5 minutes.  I let mine cool for a little longer, maybe 20 minutes.  I want it to be cool enough for cutting.

Flossie Miles' Corn Pudding Souffle makes for great leftovers.  It works well when reheated or nuked in the microwave.  Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

    Half        Thanksgiving Size

    1/2            1       cup sugar
    3/4            1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    3               6       large eggs
    1               2       cups condensed milk
    1/4            1/2    cup butter (at room temperature)
    1               2       Vanilla (Pure if you have it)
    2               3       (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn
    1               2       (14.75 ounce) cans cream-style corn
    1 1/2         3       tablespoons all-purpose flour OR
    2               4       tablespoons cornstarch
    1               2       teaspoons baking powder

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degree.
Combine sugar, salt, and one of the following cornstarch OR flour & baking powder in a bowl.  Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, and butter.

Gradually add sugar mixture, whisking until smooth.
Stir in corn, both cream and kernel.
Pour into a lightly greased oblong (13 inch) baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes OR until golden brown and set.
Let stand 5-20 minutes before serving.


Yield:  The half-size recipe will make enough for a family of 4 with leftovers.

I've had this dish made using fresh corn (that I shucked).  It's delicious.  Take a note on the amount of sugar you add.  It could be me, but less sugar seems to be more these days.  Experiment and see what works for you.  Again, as all cooks know, cooking is not an exact science and adding your own spin on a recipe makes it that much more your own.

Enjoy!