Ainsley Harriott's Sweetcorn Fritters (2024)

Desert Island Dishes | Recipes | Weeknight Supper

Sweetcorn Fritters are one of those dishes that I remember so vividly eating for the first time. My mum always used to make them for lunch on a Saturday and I just remember thinking that I had never tasted anything so delicious. Still hot from the pan, they were so wonderfully crispy but light at the same time.

Years ago when I had chef Ainsley Harriott on the Desert Island Dishes podcast, he explained that sweetcorn fritters make an appearance on his dining table every weekend or that his friends semi-demand them! He uses creamed corn as well as the sweetcorn which makes a really light and delicious fritter. Such a great idea.

What you’ll need to make sweetcorn fritters

Creamed sweetcorn (I recommend this one or you can find in the supermarket and it just sits next to the regular sweetcorn)
Sweetcorn (a tin of classic sweetcorn, Green Giant tends to have the best flavour)
Plain flour (plain flour bulks out the batter)
Cornflour (cornflour thickens the batter for good texture once it hits the hot pan)
Baking powder (this gives the fritters a slight rise)
Spring onion
Crispy bacon, eggs, tomatoes, avocado (to serve alongside)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my sweetcorn fritters not crispy?

Usual sweetcorn fritter batters might be made with flour and eggs to bind together, which is hard to crisp up as it’s essentially a pancake batter. By using creamed corn as a binder, you eliminate this and have more corn content in each fritter, which can get crispy. We also use cornflour which helps. The final key to really crispy fritters is to fry in a decent glug of oil.

Why are my corn fritters falling apart?

You might have had too much water in the batter which causes it to loosen. Make sure you really drain the water from the tin of sweetcorn first.

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Sweetcorn Fritters with Crispy Bacon

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

For the fritters

1 x 418g tin creamed sweetcorn (I recommend this one or you can find in the supermarket and it just sits next to the regular sweetcorn)
1x 198g tin sweetcorn (drained)
75g plain flour
25g cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 spring onion, finely chopped
Sunflower oil, for frying

To serve

8 rashers bacon
4 eggs
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
1 avocado mashed with lemon juice, salt and pepper and olive oil

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Instructions

Place the creamed sweetcorn and sweetcorn kernels in a mixing bowl, stir in the flours, baking powder, spring onion and some seasoning.
Heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil (for each batch of fritters) in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.Add 4-6 heaped spoonfuls of the batter depending on size of pan making sure their spaced well apart using the tip of the spoon to create a nice round shape, and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until richly golden and cooked through. Remove from the pan place on absorbent kitchen paper and keep warm while you make the remaining fritters.
Serve with crispy bacon, smashed avocado, a scattering of chopped cherry tomatoes and a poached egg.