Making the Most of Summer Corn

We’ve been making Corn Ice Cream at Weckerly’s since year one (2012). Working in the kitchen behind the Green Line Cafe at 43rd and Baltimore Ave, we’d run across the street on Saturday morning to buy up armfuls of corn from the Clark Park Farmers’ Market. Those small batches were really something special. Initially making just a gallon at a time and eventually four gallons, the fresh cut corn kernels along with the cobs crowded the pots. The corn soaked up so much dairy that we’d spend half the time ringing all of the corn-infused sweet cream out of the swollen cobs.

With just a few weeks left to get your hands on sweet local corn and labor day just around the bend, we thought it would be fun to share our corn ice cream recipe. Please find all of the instructions below along with some downloadable recipe cards to keep on hand.

Sweet Corn Ice Cream (Makes about two quarts of corn ice cream)

Ingredients:

3 Cups Heavy Cream
2.5 Cups Whole Milk
2/3 Cups Dry Milk Powder (optional)
10 Large Egg Yolks
1.75 Cups Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tiny Pinch Cayenne Pepper (our secret ingredient)
2 Ears of Fresh Corn

Prior to making ice cream freeze your ice cream maker bowl and the metal container you will be storing the ice cream in for at least 24 hours.

Shuck and clean corn. Cut kernels from the cob and break cobs into thirds. If you decide to add the dry milk powder to make the ice cream a bit denser, blend the powder into the whole milk cold.

Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan. Add the kernels, cobs, and cayenne. Heat until simmering around the edges, be careful not to scald. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks, salt, and sugar. Gradually pour some of the hot liquid onto the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula or whisk.

After about two minutes, the custard should thicken enough to coat the spatula. Pour the custard with the corn into a heat resistant bowl and refrigerate overnight. Strain the custard, removing kernels and cobs. Squeeze any remaining liquid out of the cobs and into the custard. Follow the ice cream maker's instructions to churn ice cream. Pour frozen custard into a 9x5 bread pan cover & freeze overnight.

Consider adding a mix-in. Salted caramel sauce, raspberry jam, and toasted peanuts are some of our favorite options.