When we dream of corn on a hot summer day, we conjure up thoughts of melted butter, tangy lime and even crumbly cheese. But one ingredient we rarely associate with the cob is sugar…until now.
Bacon has long been the savory dessert ingredient of choice, thrilling us with its salty addition to our sweet dishes. Now corn is moonlighting on the pastry scene, lending its subtle sweetness to treats across the board. Chock full of creamy natural starches and a pleasingly bright flavor, corn is our new go-to ingredient for summer desserts.
Try steeping it in milk and cream as the base for a pudding, ice cream or panna cotta. The kernels will not only impart flavor, but will tint the cooking liquid with a beautiful hatched-chick yellow. We think it’s the perfect color, and flavor, for a summer day.
Corn Recipes from The Kitchn:
• Sweet Corn Ice Cream
• Sweet Corn and Milk Drink
Corn Recipes from the Web:
• Mais con hielo (pictured above) at Crispy Waffle
• Corn Panna Cotta with Dulce de Leche at Epicurious
• Corn and Coconut Pudding - at Epicurious
• Sweet Corn Budino with Blueberries and Cornmeal Shortbread at the James Beard Foundation
Andrea Christine Bearce is a freelance writer and former executive pastry chef based in Austin, Texas. She has a degree in Classic Culinary Arts from the French Culinary Institute in New York City.
(Image: Sheryl of Crispy Waffle)
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Frozen corn niblets are a tasty dessert/snack. I like the white corn best. Really- try it!
Dessert corn and kraut juice!? What's going on!?
Filipinos eat an ice cream flavor called maiz con queso..yes..corn and cheese ice cream. They also eat canned corn with crushed ice..it's delicious.
Let me just say that corn gives an amazing sweet bite to chocolaty desserts!
I had a creamy, slightly sweet, blended corn-based tequila cocktail when I was in Mexico last year. It was delicious! I foolishly thought I'd be able to Google it later to figure out what it was so I could make it at home (I was not able to communicate with the bartender effectively, unfortunately), but I have come up short in my search. Has anyone ever had anything like this?
There's a noodle restaurant by my house that gives you a free sticky black rice pudding with corn in it with every meal. I love it.
Last summer I made Corn Ice Cream!
Mmm, my boyfriend (now husband) and I first bonded over our mutual love for the Sweet Corn Tomalito from Chevy's (it's a side, not a dessert). I found a recipe that used, like, a pound of butter but boy was it good.
It's a common thing in Thai desserts.
In HK and China corn is a super popular sweets ingredient. To the point that it seems completely random to me.
I mean I love corn but I don't need a corn option for every single kind of dessert and candy out there. Sweet corn ice cream, ok, sorta high end but not really news anymore. Corn flavored hard candies, thanks but no thanks, grandma.
There is this shop in Puerto Rico, that serves corn ice cream and they top it with cinnamon, delicious! I wish I was there now!
I -love- corn ice cream!!
I think the real trend to watch is the influence of Asian desserts on Western palates; many of the ingredients that are "cutting edge" here have been part of the Asian repetoire for years. We've done wasabi, now corn. Perhaps the next trend will be sweet beans?