How to make Sonora-Style Tamales de Elote muffins (loaded cornbread)

I came up with this recipe while we were in a cabin in Ohio ready to receive 2022 and thought of sharing it.

Long story short, I was CRAVING ‘tamales de elote’ from Sonora, México (my home state) but didn’t want to bother with the whole process, then I thought of a classical cornbread recipe, I then put two and two together and this is the result.

This recipe is NOT your traditional cornbread, it is sour, spicy, moist and filling; just as a Sonoran tamal de elote (corn tamale). You can use this recipe to make muffins or a regular 8X8 baking pan and it will work the same.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of cornmeal

• 1 cup bread flour

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup of white corn. You can use freshly removed from the cob or canned, but it has to be canned and NOT sweet

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 cup of Mexican sour cream (or creme fraiche)

• 3 large eggs

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 3 poblano and 2 Anaheim peppers , blackened, de seeded and chopped into 1/4 inch squares.

• 1 zucchini chopped into 1/4 inch cubes.

PROCEDURE

1. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8-9 inch casserole dish or prepare your muffin pan.

2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, these include: flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda and pepper.

3. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl, these include: eggs, butter, sour cream and agave syrup.

4. Add wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until well combined, then fold in zucchini and poblano peppers.

• If using casserole dish: Add mixture into the casserole dish and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the dish comes out clean.

• If using muffin pan: Use ice cream scoop to fill up each muffin liner and bake for 15-20 minutes.

You can serve this 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven or even the day after. This cornbread tamal just get better after a couple days! Serve it as a side dish or even an appetizer, you can definitely make these look cute enough for a Friday dinner party with your COVID bubble.