The last hurrah for summer sweetcorn. There’s something slightly ridiculous about turning a vegetable into ice cream, but sweetcorn is sweet enough to make it work - especially with caramel and popcorn involved.
Prep Time2hours
Cook Time1hour
Total Time3hours
Ingredients
3ears of corn
500mldouble cream
250mlfull-fat milk
2tspvanilla bean paste
175gcaster sugar
pinchof salt
4egg yolks(from large eggs)
200gcaramel(I use the Carnation one!), whisked to loosen it up
to serve: caramel popcorn, roughly chopped
Instructions
Slice the corn kernels from each cob. Combine the corn kernels, cobs, double cream, milk and vanilla bean paste in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over a low-medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, and making sure it never comes to the boil. Turn the heat off, cover the pan with a lid, and let the mixture sit for at least 2 hours.
Fish out the cobs from the cooled cream, and transfer the rest to a high-speed blender. Add sugar and a pinch of salt, then blend until completely smooth.
Lightly whisk the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl. Slowly pour in the blended cream, whisking all the time as you do, then return it to its pan.
Set the pan over a low-heat and bring to a very gentle simmer (don’t let it boil!). Cook for 4-6 minutes, whisking constantly, until the ice cream base easily coats the back of a spoon. Cover the surface of the ice cream base with clingfilm, to stop a crust forming, then let the mixture cool completely.
Squeeze the ice cream base through single layer of muslin cloth, into a jug - this will help you get a super smooth ice cream. Then, pour the base into your ice cream maker (whichever one you have), and churn until firm.
When the ice cream is firm, add the caramel in a slow drizzle for a churn or two, to marble it through the ice cream. Transfer the ice cream into an airtight container, and freeze until you are ready to eat. Serve topped with a good handful of caramel popcorn.