Sweet Corn Ice Cream
Originally published July 31, 2020, Updated on 3/18/2021
Sweet Corn Ice Cream is becoming more and more popular at summer events, for good reason! Though it sounds weird, it just WORKS. Recipes for several great toppings to go with it, included!
I created this Sweet Corn Ice Cream recipe many, many years ago - back in 2006!
It was early on in our relationship, and I was just learning how much of a feral corn addict my new husband was. I'd like to joke that he could live on corn, every meal, every snack, endlessly... but I'm not entirely sure how much of a "joke" it would be!
It was that realization that led me down the path that would eventually culminate in a cookbook, "Maize Craze"!
For his birthday that year, I decided to make him a "day of corn".
Every meal, every snack... would involve corn.
Corn pancakes for breakfast, corn chips and corn salsa as a snack, you get the idea.
Honestly, some of the stuff I came up with - including the corn ice cream - came from a place of creative snark, more than anything.
Snarky or not, he LOVED it... and so did I!
Sweet Corn Ice Cream
The Sweet Corn Ice Cream may have been a bit of a joke at first, but it was super tasty.
You wouldn't think that corn - a grain, and usually used as a savoury side - would work so well, but it really does.
Anyway, sweet corn ice cream is becoming popular at summer festivals and other events - a far cry from how bizarre people seemed to take the idea when I created this recipe!
So, not to sound like a gross hipster or anything, but... we were making Sweet Corn Ice Cream before it was cool to do so! 🙂
This recipe is actually for a frozen custard, more so than an ice cream - but the lines between the two have really blurred, in modern usage.
In terms of equipment, you can make this with or without an ice cream maker - I know plenty of people just freeze and stir the custard in various ways - but to be honest... I'm way too lazy for that. I just use an ice cream maker (This one is the model we have), and let it do its thing.
Sweet Corn Ice Cream Toppings
Before I get to the recipe for my sweet corn ice cream, I want to talk about toppings!
This ice cream is great on its own, but - like most ice creams - toppings can really elevate it.
Here are a few quick recipes for toppings that I like to serve with this corn ice cream:
Blueberry Sauce
This sauce is particularly great served over sweet corn ice cream, or layered with sweet corn mousse for a unique and beautiful parfait!
Makes about 2 cups
2 cups Fresh or frozen blueberries
¾ cup Granulated sugar
⅔ cup Water
2 tsp Fresh lemon juice
½ - 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Combine blueberries, sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Turn the temperature down and simmer until the blueberries have broken down into a thick sauce, about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat, and cool to room temperature before stirring in vanilla extract.
Transfer cooled blueberry sauce to a jar, chill until serving.
Glazed Nuts
I like to use cashews, walnuts, or pecans for use on corn recipes, but feel free to experiment.
You can use almonds, peanuts.. pretty much any type of nut you prefer. Use just one type, or a mix of your favorites!
Makes about 1 lb
1 lb Nuts of choice
1 ¼ cup Granulated sugar
3 Tbsp Butter, melted
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine nuts, sugar, and melted butter in a large, heavy pan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar melts, turns golden, and coats the nuts - this will take between 5-10minutes.
Divide nuts between the two cookie sheets, spreading loosely across each.
Allow the nuts to cool completely, store in an airtight container
Candied Bacon Dessert Topping
Not so much as a recipe, but a how-to. Use as much bacon as you think you'll need, and enough brown sugar to coat it!
Bacon (Ideally thick cut!)
Brown Sugar
Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C), line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, coat bacon slices with brown sugar.
Arrange bacon on the baking sheet, sprinkle with additional brown sugar.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the desired level of crispy.
Allow to cool slightly, then crumble.
Salted Caramel Sauce
Salted caramel has been a popular flavour in the past few years, being used for almost any kind of dessert imaginable.
The rich flavour of the caramel, with a bite of saltiness works really well as a foil to creamy, corny ice cream.
This sauce keeps well in the fridge, and should be good for around 2.5-3 weeks- just warm and stir before serving.
Be absolutely sure that your butter and cream are at room temperature, or even a bit warmer - adding these as cold ingredients to the caramel can cause it to seize and turn into a crystallized mess.
Makes about 3 cups
2 cup Granulated sugar
¼ cup Corn syrup
1 ½ cups Butter, room temperature
1 cup Heavy cream, room temperature
1 Tbsp Sea salt
In a large pot combine sugar and corn syrup, bringing to a boil over medium-high heat.
Gently stir the mixture just until the sugar dissolves, trying not to splash much of it up the sides of the pot.
Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat down to medium and stop stirring - just swirl the pan gently, every once in a while as it cooks.
Use a candy thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature of the caramel as it begins to turn golden brown. Once it reaches 350 F (180 C), remove pan from heat and carefully stir in the butter - the mixture will bubble up somewhat violently at this point!
Continue stirring until all of the butter is melted and fully incorporated into the sugar mix.
Once butter is incorporated, slowly and carefully pour the cream into the pot, knowing that it will once again bubble up.
Stir well, until cream is completely incorporated, leaving you with a thick, smooth sauce.
Mix in the sea salt, allow to cool for 20 minutes or so.
Pour sauce into a glass jar(s) and allow to cool to room temperature before covering with a lid
More Sweet Corn Recipes
Fan of sweet corn? I’ve got more recipes for you!
Beer Battered Corn on the Cob
Breakfast Corn Muffins
Hearty Corn & Black Bean Soup
Marie's Low Country Boil
Quick Sweet Corn Soda
Roasted Corn Chowder
Roasted Corn & Potato Salad
Roasted Corn Salsa for Canning
Roasted Corn Salsa Verde for Canning
Southwest Hot Dish
Sweet Corn Bruschetta
Sweet Corn Panna Cotta
Sweet Corn Relish
This recipe is one of many spectacular sweet corn recipes featured in my cookbook, Maize Craze. It’s available here on my website, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller.
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Sweet Corn Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 Ears fresh sweet corn husks removed
- 2 cups Whole milk
- 8 Large egg yolks
- ¾ cup Granulated sugar
- 2 cups Heavy cream
- ¼ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, carefully cut kernels off the ears of corn, placing them into a food processor or blender, along with the milk.
- Process until corn is rendered into small pieces. Pour into a saucepan.
- Heat corn and milk mixture to just to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Do not let it come to boil! Remove from heat, allow to steep for 10 minutes.
- Once mixture has steeped, run it through a fine mesh strainer, and into a clean saucepan. Discard the corn pulp.
- Heat mixture over medium just to a simmer once again.
- Combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk until fluffy, pale yellow, and smooth. Add heavy cream and salt, whisk until well incorporated.
- Stream egg mixture into saucepan, whisking to incorporate. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens - it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and then chill thoroughly until ready to use.
- Follow your ice cream maker’s instructions to freeze custard mixture - depending on the size of the ice cream maker, you may need to do this in multiple batches. Keep any extra ice cream mix chilled until use - process into frozen custard within a day or two.
- Serve immediately for a soft ice cream, or freeze for at least 2 hours for a more firm ice cream.
Nutrition
More “Sounds Weird, but it WORKS!” Recipes
Got a bit of a sense of adventure in the kitchen? Here are some more recipes that sound weird, but actually work!
Canadian Candy Bar Salad
Cardamom Fig Pavlova
Crab Rangoon Pizza
Dill Pickle Gummy Worms
Hopped Cheesecake with Citrus Glaze
Moon Mist Ice Cream
Moroccan Twist Salted Caramel Popcorn
Pumpkin Spice Nanaimo Bars
Savoury Alligator Pie
Spicy Southern Comfort Glazed Chicken
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