Sweet Cinnamon Tamal

Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich

Tamales are traditionally wrapped in individual corn husks and steamed, but baking a single large-format tamal in a foil-covered pan set in a roasting pan of hot water produces a similarly tender texture. The result is a moist, barely sweet cake with pudding vibes. We used Bob’s Red Mill masa harina for this tamal recipe—it has a more pronounced corn flavor than other brands.

Yield
8 servings

Ingredients

    • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
    • 1 1/2 cups masa harina (masa flour), preferably Bob’s Red Mill
    • 1 tsp. baking powder
    • 1 tsp. kosher salt
    • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, plus more for serving
    • 4 ears of corn, husked, kernels removed, or 4 cups frozen, thawed
    • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
    • 1/2 cup raw or demerara sugar
    • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
    • 1 cup crème fraîche
    • 2/3 cup crumbled queso fresco, plus more for serving

Preparation

    1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly coat an 8×8" metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Whisk masa, baking powder, salt, and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a medium bowl.
    2. Pulse corn kernels in a blender or food processor until very coarsely puréed, just a few seconds should do it.
    3. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and raw sugar until pale and slightly fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in corn purée and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and beat in dry ingredients; mix until batter is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape into prepared pan and cover tightly with foil. Set baking pan inside a large roasting pan; pour in boiling water to come halfway up sides of baking pan.
    4. Bake tamal until top springs back when lightly pressed and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 75–85 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan before serving.
    5. Mix crème fraîche and 2/3 cup queso fresco in a small bowl. Scoop tamal onto plates and top with crème fraîche mixture, more queso fresco, and a dusting of cinnamon.

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