Tamale Cake

I tried really hard to find what I wanted for this recipe.  The closest was building a tamale pie in a Bundt pan.

The goal here was a tamale without all the busy work.  This is something you can slice and serve, with all the flavors of a wrapped tamale.  Except the corn husk.  Those got really expensive this season, for something that gets thrown away.  I almost bought an ear of corn just to shuck it.

All you need to do for this version is make the masa and the filling, pour them both into the vessel of choice, and allow to steam as you would for a wrapped tamale.

The filling ingredients are what I made, a bean and cheese for vegetarian night.  Feel free to use your favorite filling.

1/4 C butter
*1 C masa harina flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp each cumin and chili powder
About *1 C vegetable or chicken stock
1 C-ish mashed pinto beans
2-3 Tb each green onions and cilantro leaves
1/4 C shredded cheese

1.  In a mixer with the paddle, whip butter until smooth.

2.  In a separate bowl, stir together masa, baking powder, and spices.  Add broth and stir into a soft batter. If too stiff to spread easily, add more broth.  Spoon into mixer and beat with butter until combined, scraping the sides a couple of times.

3.  Here's where things got experimental.  Line your steaming basket with cheesecloth.  Don't have one?  I used a mesh strainer that fits neatly in one of my saucepans.  I actually lined it with the muslin cloth I use for cheese-making.  You can absolutely use corn husks if that is something you keep around.

4.  Spoon about half of the masa into the bottom of the steamer.  Spread out until it comes partway up the sides.  Layer in the onions, cilantro, beans, and cheese.  Top with remaining masa, bearing in mind this whole thing is going to be flipped over and the top will be the bottom.  Cover with the overhang of the cloth/leaves.

5.  Set basket over water in a pot, not touching, and cover.  Bring to a low boil and steam for 90 minutes, checking water level every half hour.  Remove from heat and allow to cool 10 minutes before unwrapping.  When cake appears stable, turn out onto serving plate and remove remaining cloth/leaves.  Once it stops steaming, slice and serve, perhaps with a salad, salsa, and sour cream.

Difficulty rating  :-0