Homemade Corn Casserole Recipe: Silky Custard

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a 9x13 inch ceramic or glass casserole dish.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk 115g of melted, cooled butter with 225g of softened cream cheese. It might look a bit lumpy at first, but keep going until it's a smooth, pale yellow paste.
3. Add 2 large eggs, 120ml heavy cream, and 100g sugar to the butter mixture. Whisk vigorously until the liquid is completely uniform and silky. This ensures the custard sets evenly without streaks of egg or cream.
4. Gently stir in 425g of drained whole kernel corn and 425g of cream style corn. Use a spatula to fold them in so you don't crush the kernels, maintaining that 'shatter' of fresh corn in every bite.
5. Whisk together 120g fine yellow cornmeal, 5g baking powder, and 3g kosher salt in a separate small bowl. Mixing dry ingredients first prevents 'clumps' of baking powder which can taste bitter.
6. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet corn mixture. Stir just until combined. Stop as soon as you see no more dry cornmeal streaks to avoid developing too much gluten, which makes it rubbery.
7. Fold in half of the 115g of shredded cheddar cheese. Save the rest for the topping. This gives you cheesy pockets inside and a golden crust on top.
8. Grease your 9x13 baking dish generously with butter or a non stick spray. Pour the batter in and smooth the top with your spatula until it reaches all four corners.
9. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 40 minutes. At this point, pull it out and sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the top.
10. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned. You should hear a faint sizzle as the fat from the cheese hits the edges of the pan.
11. Let the casserole sit on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving. This is the most important step! The starches need time to 'set' so the dish doesn't fall apart when you scoop it.