Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Blackberry Verbena Syrup

Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Blackberry Verbena Syrup

By Amy Maltzan, adapted from The New York Times

Makes about 1½ quarts

4 ears fresh corn, shucked

1½cups milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 

6 large egg yolks

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ cup sour cream

2 sprigs lemon verbena or ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

1½ cups blackberries (about 6 ounces)

Slice the kernels off the corn cob into a large pot. Break the cobs in half, then add them to the pot along with the milk, heavy cream, and 1/2 cup sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, then turn off the heat and let stand for an hour to infuse. Discard cobs.

Purée the corn/cream mixture (with an immersion blender, food processor or regular blender). Bring to a simmer, then turn off heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks. Return the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan with the cream, turn the heat back on low and cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 7-10 minutes.

Strain the custard through a sieve to remove any curdled bits. Whisk in the sour cream. Cover and chill at least 4 hours, until cold.

Meanwhile, combine remaining 5 tablespoons sugar, verbena (or zest), and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan. Cook until sugar melts and syrup starts to thicken slightly, then add blackberries and cook several minutes longer, just until berries start to soften. Let cool, then discard verbena sprigs.

Freeze custard mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve with the blackberry syrup spooned over the top.

Amy Maltzan is an avid home cook, gardener and occasional blogger. More of her seasonally focused recipes are available at eggsonsunday.wordpress.com and here.

This recipe is from our July/August 2015 issue, which also features this beef tenderloin recipe.

Photo by Amy Maltzan