Sweet Corn Ice Cream
This sweet corn ice cream is creamy and full of real corn flavor. It's the perfect refreshing summer dessert! It's made with less sugar than traditional ice cream, which really allows the fresh corn and dairy flavor to shine. It also has the creamiest, silky-smooth texture!
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup nonfat or skim milk powder optional, see notes
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum optional, see notes
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cups skim or whole milk
- 3 ears corn shucked
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together milk powder, xanthan gum, sugar, and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into a large pot and add the heavy cream and milk. Whisk vigorously or blend with an immersion blender.
- Carefully slice the kernels off of the corn cob and break the cobs in half. Add the kernels and the cobs to the pot with the milk mixture. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove pot from heat. Cover the pot and allow the mixture to steep for at least 1 hour.
- After steeping, remove the cobs from the pot. Blend the remaining mixture with an immersion blender until smooth (alternatively, transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth). Bring the mixture back to a simmer over medium-low heat and remove the pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. While whisking constantly, slowly add around 1/3 of the hot mixture into the egg yolks. Then whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the pot. Return pot to medium-low heat and cook while whisking until slightly thickened (170ยบ F). Stir in vanilla extract.
- For the smoothest ice cream, strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 5 hours. Churn according to your ice cream machine's instructions. Serve directly from the machine for a soft serve consistency, or transfer to a separate container and freeze for firm ice cream. If freezing overnight or longer, allow the ice cream to thaw in the fridge for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
For super creamy ice cream and the best texture, I really recommend using milk powder and xanthan gum, but I definitely understand that many people don't have these ingredients on hand. If you are not using milk powder or xanthan gum, increase the number of egg yolks to 6. If you are using milk powder but not xanthan gum, increase the number of egg yolks to 4.