Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Black Raspberry Swirl

I finally got some corn in my Boston Organics delivery and knew immediately that I wanted to make this ice cream.

Growing up in Ohio has its share of pros and cons, but one of the perks is being able to buy sweet corn in the summer from roadside stands.  You can actually see the fields where the corn was harvested, and it's so amazingly fresh and sweet that all other corn just tastes like dust in comparison.

This recipe is another one from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, which has basically become my ice cream making bible.  I couldn't find any black raspberries at the farmer's market or the grocery story, so I did as she suggested and made the sauce with half red raspberries and half blackberries.

Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Black Raspberry Swirl (from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home)
makes about 1 quart

To make the black raspberry swirl: 
2 cup black raspberries or red raspberries and blackberries
1 cup sugar

To make the ice cream base:
1 ear of fresh, sweet corn, husked
2 cups milk
4 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Combine berries and 1 cup sugar in a 1-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 8 minutes; strain and chill.

Slice the kernels from the corn cob, then "milk" the cob by scraping it with the back of your knife to extract the liquid; reserve the kernels and liquid.

Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.  Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, corn kernels and juices in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and force the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, leaving the corn "cases" behind.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.  Bring back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Pour mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag, seal, and submerge in a bowl of ice water until chilled. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and spin until thick and creamy.

After churning, alternate layers of ice cream and berry sauce in a storage container before freezing.

The black raspberry sauce is really yummy but may overpower the delicate flavor of the sweet corn.  When I make this again I'll probably reduce the amount of sauce I layer in and increase the salt in the ice cream base a bit just to bring out the flavor of the sweet corn even more.

Previously:  Lobster Bisque
Next up:  Salted Butter Caramel Apple Pie with Vodka Pie Crust