Fire up. Prepare a grill for direct cooking by evenly spreading a chimney full of pre-heated charcoal briquets across the grill’s charcoal grate. Adjust the grill vents to bring the temperature to about 350°F (176.7°C). On a gas grill, adjust the temperature knobs to maintain a temperature of approximately 350°F (176.7°C).
Cook. Place the ears of corn on the grill and cook while rotating periodically until lightly charred all over, approximately 5 minutes. Do not worry about completely cooking the corn as it will be cooked further as part of the corn cakes. Remove the corn from the grill.
Prep. Using a small sharp knife, carefully cut the kernels from the ears corn (here’s a handy tip for removing corn kernels). Combine the dry ingredients including one cup of the grilled corn kernels (you can use the remaining kernels as a garnish or reserve for another dish), flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix in any optional add-ins such as bacon, scallions, cheese, jalapenos, cilantro, and/or parsley. Mix well.
Add the milk, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, and beaten egg to the dry ingredients. Mix the ingredients until fully combined.
Preheat a griddle on the main grill grate. When hot, coat the top of the griddle with canola oil. Cook again. Pour a 1/4 cup (53.8 g) of the batter onto the griddle for each corn cake. Cook until fluffy and golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Serve. Remove the corn cakes from the griddle and brush with the remaining melted butter. Serve immediately.