C – Roasted corn ice cream?!
I just couldn’t get my mind around the taste. Luke swore it would taste good. Ok, I agreed … with lots of reluctance. I also can’t eat corn. I just can’t seem to digest it well. So, corn ice cream just wasn’t on the top of my list to make.
So, why am I making this ice cream? Jim wanted it. He promises to eat it all and not dump it this time.
Sadly, the extremely good blueberry ice cream had to be dumped after being in the freezer for over a year. It developed a thick layer of ice crystals because Jim was waiting for a special occasion.
What special occasion are you waiting for? Just eat it and not waste it. Just make everyday a special occasion and eat it. I can always make more.
Corn ice cream has a few more steps in it than regular ice cream. There’s a reason for that. I wanted to make sure that I was going to get good corn flavor. Roasting it with some salt and sugar until caramelized would help.
The roasting also makes sure that water from the corn evaporates. One of the biggest mistakes I have made with ice cream is making crystallized, hard-as-a-rock ice cream. Having water mixed in with the custard mixture makes rock-hard ice cream.
I was scared that my precautions would still create hard-as-a-rock ice cream.
Another thing that concerned me was the gluten in the corn. Some people use cornstarch to thicken-up the custard in ice cream. I wasn’t sure if it would be too thick, because of all the corn I was using. Maybe I shouldn’t have used egg yolks.
It worked out … luckily. I did have to make sure not to over churn the ice cream. Also, the best time to eat this ice cream is a few hours after freezing. It’s the perfect constancy. There are no ice crystals and it’s not too hard either.
After a few days of being in the freezer, this ice cream still turned hard. But, setting it out on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes will allow the ice cream to soften up.
| Corn Week: Roasted Corn Ice Cream |
- 3 ears of corn
- 1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
- 1¾ cup heavy cream, divided
- 2 cups milk, separated
- 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
- Pinch of salt
- 4 egg yolks
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the kernels off the ears of corn. Mix ¼ cup sugar and oil along with the kernels and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the cobs on the parchment paper for roasting also.
- Bake for 20 minutes, mixing half way to allow the corn to cook evenly.
- Turn on broiler and move the corn below the boiler to toast until golden brown. About 10 minutes.
- Remove from broilers.
- Place kernels into a blender.
- Add 1 cup milk into the blender. Blend until pureed.
- Place remaining ingredients except the egg yolks into a saucepan.
- Heat until it comes to a light simmer.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer.
- Beat eggs in a mixing bowl.
- Slowly pour the warm mixture into the eggs while continuing to beat the eggs until all the mixture is incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture into a clean sauce pan and cook until the mixture has reached 180 degrees.
- Remove and let cool to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator to cool overnight.
- Churn according to ice cream makers instructions.
- Place in the freezer for about 4 hours before serving. If eating after a day in the freezer, thaw it out a little to soften it up before scooping.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
How did it taste? Like cold, sweet, creamy, roasted corn. If you like corn, this ice cream is for you. Jim loved it. I wasn’t so much of a fan. I would prefer my calories go somewhere else. But, it’s just because I am not a big fan of corn.
Well, Jim, I hope this ice cream will be completely gone before you ask me to make more ice cream.