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Sweet Corn Gelato
Sweet Corn Gelato
This sweet corn gelato is a silky treat with an intriguing savory edge that gives you a delightful new reason to welcome corn season every summer!
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Summer is the season of abundance everywhere, but especially in northern countries. Every year, I cook and bake with summer produce like my life depended on it. Few things make me happier than homemade summer treats: a freshly baked batch of Wild Blueberry Financiers, a spoonful of Rosé, Strawberry, and Rhubarb Compote, or a generous slice of homemade angel food cake showered with fresh strawberries.
Summer veggies have a hold on my heart, too. I love to turn cherry tomatoes into frittata or casseroles, zucchini into salads, savory bread pudding, or even cake (!!), and corn into chowder and risotto. Corn grown in Quebec is especially sweet and I basically gorge myself with it every August. Ever since I was a young child, my family’s been holding a yearly épluchette de blé d’inde around Labor Day weekend. The get-together starts with outdoor games in the afternoon, followed by the shucking of pounds and pounds of corn, which is then boiled and devoured in record time. Hamburgers, hot dogs, an impressive array of salads, and desserts are also part of the equation. There’s always way too much food, but this is part of the fun. Nobody leaves the épluchette hungry.
Though my love runs deep for buttered corn on the cob, I also very much enjoy cooking with corn, but I had yet to use it in desserts. I’d been playing around with corn dessert for a while, but then I became obsessed with the idea of corn gelato. I heard about sweet corn ice cream a while ago, but I’d never seen it in local ice cream shops. I thought it was time to give it a shot.
I started with my favorite Sicilian-style gelato base, which I love because of its amazingly silky and relatively low-fat content. It tastes rich and indulgent but doesn’t leave you feeling guilty for eating three scoops! Inspired by a recipe in the Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream cookbook, I infused the heated milk and cream with corn kernels and chopped corn cobs for maximum flavor. I fished the cobs out, then blended the mixture to as smooth a texture as I could reach. I then strained the mixture for maximum creaminess and finished the custard for churning. As usual, I let the cooked custard cool completely and then refrigerated it overnight. This extended refrigeration/resting period is what guarantees the silkiest, creamiest gelato. You can’t rush gelato—but I swear the extra wait is worth it!
This sweet corn gelato has an intriguing flavor that has you pause after your first spoonful, while your brain tries to identify that savory touch. After the second spoonful, you’re hooked.
Helpful Tips for Making Sweet Corn Gelato
Use the Sweetest Corn You Can Find—or Grab a Bag of Frozen Corn
Corn is at its sweetest in August. In Quebec, we have a bicolor corn variety that’s incredibly sweet and that’s the one I like to use when I make this sweet corn gelato.
Although this frozen treat is perfect for celebrating corn season, you can also make it with frozen corn. Frozen corn is generally packaged at their ripest, so you can be sure gelato produced with frozen corn will be delicious. Whatever you do, do not use canned corn to make this gelato. The flavor just wouldn’t be right.
Plan Ahead
As with all gelato flavors, you should start the sweet corn gelato-making process a day in advance. Both the corn puree and the gelato base need to be refrigerated to cool completely before being combined and churned together. Gelato custard must be very cold before churning: this will produce the smoothest, silkiest texture.
Bring Sweet Corn Gelato Back to Room Temperature Before Serving
Always remember to bring this rhubarb gelato to room temperature 15 to 20 minutes before serving. That will not only make it easier to serve—gelato’s lower fat content means it freezes rock hard—but also soften it to a consistency closer to what you would enjoy at a gelati bar, waking up the flavors and giving it the luxurious texture that is so easy to fall in love with.
Delicious Serving Ideas for Sweet Corn Gelato
I love serving this sweet corn gelato garnished with a combination of salted butter popcorn and caramel popcorn. This presentation is a definite conversation starter and I think it adds a bit of whimsy to the dish, too! The sweet and savory combination pushes the flavors in the gelato even further, too. You might serving the gelato with only salted butter or caramel popcorn, depending on the occasion and whether you like your desserts on the sweeter side.
This sweet corn gelato is also delicious garnished with fresh summer fruits, such as blackberries, blueberries, or diced peaches, or topped with a lightly sweetened fruit puree.
If you like desserts that walk a fine line between sweet and savory, I strongly invite you to drizzle peppery extra-virgin olive oil over the gelato and sprinkle it with flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel. This treat is what my dreams are made of!
WATCH MY GELATO MASTERCLASS
Never made gelato before? Curious about what makes gelato different from ice cream? Check out my colorful masterclass! In it, you’ll find out what makes gelato different from ice cream, how to make a versatile gelato base you can turn into various flavors, and all my secrets and tips to churn and serve outstanding gelato. I even share how to make dairy-free, vegan gelato! In short, it’s a very thorough, colorful class that will quickly turn you into a gelato master.
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More Delicious Homemade Gelato Recipes
Love gelato? Then you need to give these creative, homemade gelato recipes a try.
Sweet Corn Gelato
Ingredients
- 3 ears fresh sweet corn, shucked
- 2 ¼ cups whole milk
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 large egg yolk
Instructions
- Slice the kernels off the corn cobs. You should get about 2 cups (500 ml) corn kernels. Break or cut each corncob in half.
- In a medium saucepan, pour 2 cups (500 ml) of the milk and the cream, then add the corn kernels and the corncobs. Warm over medium heat until it just starts to bubble around the edge (no need to bring it to a boil). Turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Fish the corncobs out of the warm corn cream and discard. Blend the corn cream to as smooth a consistency you can reach. Using a high-speed blender provides the best results, but you can use a regular stand blender or a stick blender too. Strain the corn cream through a fine mesh strainer back into the saucepan and set over medium-low heat. (You can save the corn solids and add them to a smoothie or a soup.) Add the sugar to the corn cream and salt and cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 2 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml) milk with the cornstarch. Whisk into the corn cream. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Place the egg yolk in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Temper the egg yolk by slowly pouring one ladleful of the hot corn cream into the yolk, whisking constantly, then slowly pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan, whisking to combine.
- Remove from the heat. Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight.
- Whisk the cool corn custard for a few seconds. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl of an ice cream maker (straining the mixture one last time will ensure a silky-smooth sweet corn gelato). Freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stop the machine when the gelato is icy but still soft.
- STORAGE: Transfer the sweet corn gelato to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about two hours.Sweet corn gelato is at its creamiest and best if enjoyed within 2 weeks. Past that, some ice crystals will inevitably start forming (especially if the gelato is kept in the freezer section of a regular fridge, as opposed to a chest freezer) and the texture won't be quite as smooth. The gelato will still be perfectly edible for up to 2 months, but my advice is: enjoy it as quickly as possible after churning.
- SERVING: Always take sweet corn gelato out to room temperature 20 minutes before serving to make it easier to scoop. This will also allow you to enjoy the treat at its ideal temperature and texture.
- MAKE IT VEGAN: Get my recipe and instructions for making vegan gelato.
Did you make this?
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Author: Marie Asselin
Made this gelato and it was really good. I will definitely make it again but I will roast the corn first. Also, thanks for a real gelato recipe without eggs.
I think roasting the corn would be a great flavor booster! Thanks for sharing this idea!
I made this last week with some fresh corn from a local farm. It was absolutely delicious. I’m making it again to serve over a blueberry buckle. Thank you for a great recipe without a gazillion egg yolks.
Making this gelato at the height of corn season is the best! Happy you loved it.