Sweet Corn Gelato is rich, creamy, and surprisingly complex. The natural sugars in the corn bring a mellow, almost caramelised flavour, and the texture is silky with just a hint of grainy charm. While it takes a bit of time to prep and churn, the result is worth every minute, especially when topped with a sprinkle of sea salt or a drizzle of honey.
Ingredients
3 ears Sweet Corn
3-1/2 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Heavy Cream
1-1/2 cups Sugar
8 Egg Yolks
1 tsp Salt
Plastic Wrap
Method
Slice the corn kernels and break the cobs into 2 or 3 pieces.
In a large saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer on medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat, add corn kernels and the corn cob pieces, press the cob pieces down into the milk and cover and allow to steep for 45 minutes.
Remove the corn cob pieces from the milk and discard them. Carefully pour half the milk and corn kernel mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Place a coarse strainer over a large bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer. Discard the corn mush. Repeat the process with the remaining half of the corn and milk mixture.
Measure the amount of corn-infused milk and add more milk if necessary to make it about 3-1/2 cups.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the corn-infused milk, heavy cream and 1-1/4 cups of sugar, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is hot. Do not simmer or boil the milk.
Remove from heat, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and salt together in a bowl.
Take about a cup of the hot mixture and very slowly drizzle it into the bowl with the egg yolks, constantly whisking while you add the hot mixture so the eggs do not get cooked as you add the hot cream mixture.
Once the egg mixture is smooth, slowly pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the hot cream mixture.
Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and coats the back of the spoon for about 5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl
Immediately place the bowl into an ice bath to cool, stirring occasionally.
Once cool, cover the bowl with a plastic wrap, so that the wrap touches the surface of the custard to avoid ice formation. Refrigerate overnight.
Churn in an ice cream maker and freeze again for 4-6 hours before serving.