Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
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.