Fireside Corn Pudding à la Mode

Corn pudding has always lived in that delicious space between cake and custard. Traditional versions lean rustic: corn, milk, eggs, and a little starch baked into a soft casserole that you scoop warm at the table. My version takes that familiar comfort and refines it into a plated dessert — part cake, part pudding, and fully indulgent.

Instead of relying only on cornmeal, I simmer and purée sweet corn into a silky base, fold in tender kernels for texture, and bake the batter shallow so it sets custardy rather than bready. Fresh from the oven, the cake is soaked with a brown sugar corn milk to lock in moisture, brushed carefully until every inch glistens. From there, the dessert becomes layered: a warm scoop of pudding collapses into a pool of espresso toffee sauce, paired with a quenelle of brown sugar Chantilly or, in true à la mode fashion, a scoop of ice cream.

Here, “à la mode” means exactly what you’re craving: warm corn pudding served with cold ice cream and sauce. The heat of the pudding melts the ice cream just enough to mingle with the espresso toffee, creating a plate that is both rustic and refined. It’s comfort food, plated like a signature pastry.