Sweet Corn Ice Cream
The Mala MarketIngredients
- 3 ears fresh corn, shucked
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2½ cups whole milk, divided
- 2 ounces cream cheese (Philadelphia preferred) approx. 4 tablespoons
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- Sichuan Dipping Chilies, for serving optional
Instructions
The Night Before: Prep the Ice Cream Base and Equipment
- Make sure your ice cream churning canister is clean and in the freezer 24 hours before you plan to churn your ice cream! I also freeze a flat storage container (more surface area = faster freezing and a longer runway for scooping!) so it chills the ice cream faster.
- Hold the unhusked corn by its stem, inside a medium bowl, and use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob; repeat to use all three cobs. Scrape the bare cobs with the blunt edge of the knife to "milk" the remaining juice into the bowl. Use your hands to break the bare cobs in half or thirds, so they'll fit in a saucepan, and set them aside.
- Put the cornstarch in a small bowl and mix in just enough of the milk (about 2 tablespoons) to dissolve it into a smooth slurry.
- Put the cream cheese and salt into a large mixing bowl (it should be large enough to hold all of the cooked ice cream base later in the recipe); put a fine-mesh sieve or a strainer lined with cheesecloth on top of the bowl and set it aside.
- In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the corn kernels, cobs, remaining milk, heavy cream, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then simmer for 4 minutes to remove moisture and extract maximum sweetness from the fresh corn. Remove the pot from the heat and let it stand for 1 hour to infuse.
- When the liquid has infused, remove and discard the corn cobs (scraping any liquid clinging to them into the pot). Puree the remaining cooked base with an immersion blender (or in a blender/food processor).
- Give the cornstarch slurry another good mix and gradually whisk it into the ice cream base.
- Use the whisk to briefly whip the cream cheese and salt together (now that the former has softened). Place a fine mesh sieve/strainer or a colander lined with cheesecloth over the cream cheese bowl and set it aside.
- Return the pot with the ice cream base to the stove and bring the mixture back to a boil over medium heat. Cook it for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until it is slightly thickened (it should coat the back of a spatula or spoon). Remove the pot from heat.
- Pour a small amount of the hot ice cream base through the sieve/lined colander into the bowl with the cream cheese, then remove the sieve briefly and whisk the cream cheese and base together until smooth; return the sieve to the top of the bowl. Working in 2–3 batches, pour the rest of the hot ice cream base through the sieve into the bowl, stopping to press the liquid out of the corn solids that collect in the sieve and discard (or reserve) them as needed, whisking the cream cheese into the liquid each time.
- When all of the liquid has been added to the bowl, whisk it once more, so that it is totally smooth, then cover it and refrigerate overnight to chill*. *If you are in a rush and want to churn your ice cream sooner, you can also pour the mixture into a gallon Ziplock bag and submerge the sealed bag in an ice bath until cold, about 30 minutes.
Churn and Freeze the Ice Cream
- Remove your ice cream maker's frozen churning canister from the freezer. Assemble the machine and turn it on while empty (following the instructions provided by your appliance's maker).
- Quickly pour the chilled ice cream base into the canister and spin until thick and creamy (see your appliance's instructions for an approximate time; this took about 22 minutes for me).
- When the ice cream is done churning, remove the chilled storage container from the freezer and pack it with the churned ice cream. Press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.
- To serve the ice cream, scoop a serving into a bowl and sprinkle on some Sichuan dipping chilies.
Notes
Recipe technique adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream Desserts by Jeni Britton Bauer, 2014.