All cracked up over freeze-dried corn for Crack Pie

So, I have decided I want to make the (in)famous Momofuku Crack Pie. I have recipes that were apparently vetted by Cynthia Tosi, but none of them mention freeze-dried corn, which is an apparently indispensable component of the finished product.

I went to the website for the manufacturer of "Just Corn," and its product locator said this delicacy could be found at both the Jewel on Touhy Avenue at the Niles Center Crossing shopping center, as well as at Fresh Farms just down the street. I came up with bubkes, and the customer service folks at both places confirmed they don't carry the product.

So, my question is, has anyone here made this pie with the freeze-dried corn? If so, where did you find it locally, and how much/when are you supposed to use it??

Thanks so much!

Yes my son made it and followed the recipe to a T. We got the dried corn at Whole Foods. Beware because the filling is very liquidy. There is a lot on the internet about this recipe some people even accusing Momofuku of putting the wrong amounts in so it would not turn out right. Seemed to me the filling needed some cornstarch or something. Sue F. has experience in making it. I think hers turned out better than the one we did.

Indeed SueF's version was quite good, using the recipe from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook.
We got the corn from board favorite Spice House, and ground it in a food processor.

As Joel said, The Spice House carries it. I love it just as a snack.

JoelF wrote:Indeed SueF's version was quite good, using the recipe from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook.
We got the corn from board favorite Spice House, and ground it in a food processor.

So the ground-up corn goes in the filling? Maybe down the road I will purchase the cookbook, but it's just not in the budget right now. Could you possibly ask SueF how much I need, and when I add it? I can bring you some Hot and Sour Soup next time I make it, as a thank you, if you would like! (My last batch was outstanding, if I do say so myself ... )

The recipe on the Milk Bar site includes corn powder.
http://milkbarstore.com/main/press/recipes-and-how-tos/

and on their FAQ it addresses why recipes elsewhere might be different
"a recipe I found online is different than the recipe in the cookbook. Which is correct?

Most recipes posted on the internet have used creative license in making our actual milk bar recipes as “easy” to reproduce for the home cook as possible, and therefore are different."

leek wrote:The recipe on the Milk Bar site includes corn powder.
http://milkbarstore.com/main/press/recipes-and-how-tos/

and on their FAQ it addresses why recipes elsewhere might be different
"a recipe I found online is different than the recipe in the cookbook. Which is correct?

Most recipes posted on the internet have used creative license in making our actual milk bar recipes as “easy” to reproduce for the home cook as possible, and therefore are different."

Well, duh on me -- I didn't even think to go to their site, as I just assumed the recipe wouldn't be found there ... many thanks! The recipes I have do seem to be authentic, as they were part of stories on the bakery, but not a one of them includes the corn powder for some reason!

Like toria mentioned this recipe has a lot of chatter. What the heck is corn powder? Can I use cornstarch? What on earth is milk powder? Why is there so much sugar? Wait is it supposed to run all over the place? Must I have a stand mixer? Why do so many "authorized" recipes, Bon Appetit, L.A. Times, and even Chang & Tosi's visit with Martha Stewart fails to mention corn powder?

I had looked at Milk Bar's book for years but could never bring myself to make anything from it. There were so many steps. Nothing had ready-to-hand ingredients, yep glucose, cake rings, and acetate strips come to mind. And things just sounded odd, WTF cereal milk recipes!

But after having a toodler's portion of Crack Pie at dessert exchange a couple of weeks ago and quite a bit of cheering from kalamazoogal I decided to give it a try. I was buoyed because I had all of the ingredients ( did I buy milk powder years ago for this recipe?) and decided to break the recipe up. BA's version said it takes about 15 hours!

First I made the crust. The crust is made from a giant, buttery, oatmeal cookie.


Next you crumble that cookie, add sugar, salt, and melted butter then press into the pie pan.



I made the giant cookie the first day. And the only problem was not eating the cookie!

The next day you make a filling that includes milk powder, corn powder, sugar, yolks, cream, and butter. Pour it into the prepared pie pan and bake until golden while being simultaneously firm on the outer edges and jigglyin the center. Did I mention part of the baking happens with the oven door open in order to hasten temperature drop?

After cooling for a few hours on a rack. You place it in the freezer for at least a few hours. It can be stored up to a month in the freezer. Place it in the fridge for one hour before serving. I don't like powdered sugar so I sprinkled it with home ground sugar.

The filling was not gooey at all. It was very firm and it took some effort to cut. The recipe says to serve the pie cold. But even after being out for a few hours it did not loose its firmness. I watched one person go back for seconds ( I did not watch myself but I did go back for the tiniest sliver as well). One said it was too sweet and binned it proclaiming she had to watch her carbs. And everyone else quickly gobbled it.
A couple of hours later there was one slice left and that was whisked away.



This is sweet, decadent, and salty +toasted butterscotch goodness.

The person with the carb-phobia and questionable judgement should only be invited to salad night from now on. I, for one, would've saved her unappreciated slice from the bin !

I haven't made the Crack Pie (I'm a little afraid of loving it too much and I have to keep my sweets intake very controlled due to diabetes) but i can tell you that her Corn Cookies, which also utilize the freeze-dried corn/corn powder -- are really, really yummy. They taste a bit like a giant version of Captain Crunch cereal and they have always been received with great fervor by my friends and family. They look really unassuming but they are soooo good.

I assume that grinding up Spice House freeze dried corn would be suitable as corn powder, or is this recipe looking for something different?

stevez wrote:I assume that grinding up Spice House freeze dried corn would be suitable as corn powder, or is this recipe looking for something different?

Bingo!