Recipe: Sweet Corn Ice Cream

Our neighborhood ice cream joint is Cones on Bleecker Street. A few weeks ago I noticed a new (new, or new to me?) flavor: Sweet Corn Ice Cream. It was delicious, and after trying it out at home, I realized it was quite easy to make. This is not their recipe (I don’t think they share such information), but an approximation of what I tasted there.

Sweet Corn Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart

1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
2 ears sweet corn, shucked, kernels reserved, cobs chopped into 1-inch hunks
1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, milk, corn cobs, and vanilla bean (if using vanilla extract, add later). Bring to a simmer. Stir to dissolve sugar. Gently cook for 10 minutes. Remove corn cobs with a slotted spoon.

Whisk the egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar together in a bowl until pale yellow. Slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture. Whisk until well combined and smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan and stir over low heat for 1 minute, until it coats the back of a spoon. Strain the custard through a fine sieve. Stir in the vanilla extract, if using.

In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar and the corn kernels to a simmer, cooking until kernels are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the corn mixtureto the custard. Allow it to cool in a bowl with a piece of plastic wrap against the top to prevent a skin from forming. When cool, process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

(photo: Long Island Seed Project)