Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Peach Swirl

What Inspired This Sweet Corn Ice Cream Recipe?

You may think the idea of sweet corn ice cream is just plain weird, but I’m telling you – it just works.

I was inspired by a few of my favorite summer foods, as well as an unforgettable evening a few years ago at the Minnesota State Fair with some of my best friends. I wait months and months to nibble on that first ear of “peaches and cream” sweet corn (the bi-colored variety) picked up from a roadside farmers stand.

So sweet and crunchy, it doesn’t even need to be cooked, nor buttered. At about the same time beautiful, ripe Georgia peaches make their short appearance, kissed with a crimson blush and a juiciness that has you slurping, trying to keep your chin dry. I enjoy them best the classic way – thinly sliced and drizzled with the best local cream I can find.

As I sit on our deck amongst a warm summer night’s air enjoying a few quickly melting scoops of this treat, crickets chirping keeping me company, my mind drifts back to the first time I experienced sweet corn ice cream. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.

It was the summer of 2011 and myself along with 5 of my best girlfriends were making the rounds at the state fair, eating and drinking our way through both new and iconic foods, as well as partake in lots of laughing and fun. As dusk was setting and the lights of the Midway guided our path, we tracked down the dessert that everyone was talking about – Sweet Corn Ice Cream topped with your choice of sauces: butter bacon or wild blueberry. We got one of each, thinking that would be plenty, as our stomachs were close to their limit.

Hah, who we were kidding? We all looked at one each other with that “Holy moly, why I have never discovered this combination before?” face when we dug into the scoops topped with blueberry sauce. With no shame, we finished off three more orders and basked in a moment of friendship and common ties.

And from there this version of sweet corn ice cream was born in my own kitchen. As much as I enjoy the two main ingredients separately, I’m in a love affair with them churned together. Using Jeni’s method for the rich and creamy texture, it’s studded with both diced peaches and a jamlike swirl so there’s a little bit of peach in every bite. And as a surprise every so often, you’ll find a few kernels of sweet corn peaking through.

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Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Peach Swirl

The natural sweetness of fresh sweet corn combines with peaches and cream to create an unusual—but delicious—homemade sweet corn ice cream.

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Prep Time :20 minutes minutes

Cook Time :10 minutes minutes

Freezing Time :8 hours hours

Yield: 8 servings

Author: Amanda Paa

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 ripe peaches, skinned and chopped
• 1 cup raw sweet corn ker­nels and reserved cobs (1 cup usu­ally equals 1 large or 2 small ears)

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Instructions 

• For peaches: chop and sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. Let sit for 2 hours, or overnight in refrigerator. Purée half of the peaches with immersion blender and dice remain­ing peaches. Set both aside.
• For ice cream: In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup milk and the corn­starch; set slurry aside. Cut kernels off cob of corn and cut cob into large chunks; reserve kernels and cob together. In a 4-qt. saucepan, whisk together remaining milk and the cream, sugar, syrup, and salt; add corn ker­nels and cob and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 4 minutes; stir in slurry. Return to a boil and cook, stir­ring, until thickened, about 2 min­utes. Pour mix­ture through a fine strainer into a bowl and set 3 T of ker­nels aside.
• Place cream cheese in a bowl and pour in 1/4 cup hot milk mixture; whisk until smooth. Then whisk in remaining milk mixture. Pour mix­ture into a plastic bag; seal, and sub­merge in a bowl of ice water until chilled. Pour mix­ture into an ice cream maker; process accord­ing to manufacturer’s instructions. With about 5 minutes left on the churn­ing time, add in diced peaches & kernels.
• In a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap, pour half of ice cream in. Then pour pureed peaches in layer on top and swirl, then remain­ing ice cream. Freeze until firm.

Notes

Adapted from this recipe by Saveur.