About This Recipe
This corn pudding is a spooned side dish with whole sweetcorn kernels in a soft custard. Honey is whisked through the milk and cream before the eggs go in. A little cornmeal gives the mixture body while keeping the center softer than a square of cornbread.
Recipe
Honey Corn Pudding with a Soft Custard Center
Bake sweetcorn kernels in a honey-sweetened milk-and-egg custard. Includes thawing and draining notes, a center-temperature check and an 8-serving formula.
9Ingredients
Yield: 8 servings
- 700 g frozen yellow sweetcorn kernels, thawed
- 244 g whole milk
- 120 g heavy cream
- 150 g whole eggs without shells
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 30 g yellow cornmeal
- 4 g table salt
- 0.5 g ground black pepper
Ingredient amounts scale; instructions show the original batch. Cooking times and pan sizes may need adjustment. Season to taste. Honey grams use US measures at 20°C and 17.5% moisture, a density estimate; weigh your honey for precision.
Instructions
- 1Prepare the corn and baking dishStart with 700 g plain frozen yellow sweetcorn kernels and thaw them in the refrigerator before the timed preparation. Drain off loose thawing liquid without squeezing the kernels. Heat the oven to 325 F (165 C). Line a 23 cm (9 inch) square baking dish with baking paper.
- 2Warm the milk mixtureWarm the milk and butter gently in a small saucepan just until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and honey. Let the mixture cool until warm rather than hot before adding the eggs.
- 3Mix the custardWhisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the warm milk mixture, then the cornmeal, salt and pepper. Fold in the thawed corn, scraping the bowl so the honey and cornmeal are evenly mixed.
- 4Bake the puddingPour into the prepared baking dish and level the kernels gently. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the outer custard is set and the center is soft but no longer liquid. A thermometer in the center should read 165 F (74 C). If the top is browned before the middle is ready, cover loosely with foil and continue baking.
- 5Rest and serveLet stand for 10 minutes before spooning into eight side portions. Serve some custard and kernels in each portion. The total recipe time includes this resting period but begins with the corn already thawed.
Estimated nutrition per serving
249.27 calories · 13.33 g fat · 29.55 g carbohydrate · 6.77 g protein · 242.64 mg sodium
Serving: 1 of 8 servings
Calculated from ingredient weights and USDA FoodData Central: 168398, 171265, 170859, 171287, 169640, 173430, 169697, 173468, 170931. Estimates use ingredient input weights; actual portions, brands and cooking losses vary. Omitted nutrient values are unavailable, not zero.
A Custard Side, with Whole Kernels
The eggs, milk and cream make the base. Thirty grams of cornmeal gives it a little more body, but the recipe is still meant to be spooned rather than cut into dry bread-like squares. Let it rest before serving so the middle can settle.
Clover honey keeps the flavor mild. Wildflower has a stronger floral note beside the sweetcorn. Three tablespoons go into the whole batch, mixed through the liquid so each serving gets some of the honey.
Flavor intensity uses an editorial culinary scale: 1 is mild and 5 is bold. These are tasting suggestions, not laboratory measurements.
Sources: UC Agriculture and Natural Resources: Honey flavor and cooking; USDA FoodData Central: ingredient composition; FoodSafety.gov: casserole cooking temperatures.
1 = mild, 5 = bold. Editorial pairing guidance, not laboratory measurements; jars vary.
- Clover
- Milk and sweetcorn
- Wildflower
- Butter and cornmeal
- Buckwheat
- A bolder corn side
Get the Honey Buyer's Cheat Sheet (free PDF)
16 varieties on one page — color, flavor, best use and what a fair price looks like — from the 304 honeys we track.
Start with Plain Corn
Use plain frozen yellow sweetcorn kernels for this formula, without a butter sauce or added seasoning. Weigh 700 g before thawing, then drain away loose thawing liquid. Do not squeeze the kernels dry.
The preparation time starts with thawed corn. Thaw it in the refrigerator before beginning, and keep the other ingredients cold until needed. Canned corn and creamed corn contain different amounts of water and other ingredients, so they are adaptations rather than direct matches here.
Cool the Milk Mixture before Adding Eggs
Warm the milk only enough to melt the butter. The cream and honey are added off the heat. Let that mixture become warm rather than hot before whisking it into the beaten eggs.
Scrape the saucepan and mixing bowl so the measured honey and cornmeal reach the baking dish. The cornmeal can settle while the mixture stands, so give it a final stir just before pouring.
Use the Center Check
The top can color before the middle is set, especially in a shallow dish. Look for a soft center without liquid ripples and check that it reaches 165 F (74 C). That casserole temperature follows the FoodSafety.gov table linked here.
A loose foil cover can slow the browning while the center finishes. Give the pudding its ten-minute rest before serving. For a firmer bread side, use honey cornbread; for a separate roasted vegetable, try honey roasted carrots.
Portions and the Ingredient Estimate
This makes eight side portions. Spoon some kernels and custard into each serving rather than taking only the browned edges or only the middle. A deep baking dish can take longer than the stated range to heat through.
The nutrition estimate includes all the listed raw ingredients divided by eight. It uses the USDA plain frozen uncooked sweetcorn record and does not apply a nutrient-loss adjustment for thawing or baking. Your corn brand and the amount of liquid drained can make the finished servings differ from that estimate.
Choosing the Honey
Use Clover Honey or Wildflower Honey for the flavor described in this recipe. See our honey selection guide for other culinary choices.
