Sweet Corn Blueberry Sundae

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This recipe is part of a larger dinner party menu you can find on my Substack. The category is It’s Corn!, and it features five courses centered around the miracle that is corn! You can find the recipe booklet and a handy party prep schedule here.

Do you consider ice cream a seasonal treat? I don’t. There is certainly an uptick in my ice cream consumption during the summer months, which we are technically still in. But I can’t think why we would relegate something as delicious as ice cream to one small sliver of the year, particularly the portion that tends to blow right by. Here is a Sweet Corn Blueberry Sundae for the week that most of us return to our respective routines. While it may feel a little exuberant for buttoned-down September, I can’t think of a time when a sundae is more needed. Sure, we’re all interested in putting our best foot forward, nose to the grindstone, and all that jazz. But even the most ambitious of us need joyful reprieves to see us through. This Sweet Corn Blueberry Sundae is that joyful reprieve, so let’s make it!

We tend to rush fall into the spotlight. It’s because so many of our rituals revolve around the school year. But I try to live my life by the calendar. And the calendar says we still have three weeks of summer left. And my grocery store shelves tell me that the summer harvest is still in full swing. That means eating my weight in stone fruit, zucchini, and corn. Like stupid amounts of corn. There is a reason corn is the upcoming theme for this week’s Hardcore Supper Club menu. I am obsessed. Fittingly, the first component of this Sweet Corn Blueberry Sundae is Sweet Corn Ice Cream.

The first thing we’re going to do is cut the kernels off of two ears of corn. Place the kernels and the cobs in a small saucepan and add a can of evaporated milk. We’re going to simmer the corn and the cobs in the milk, so we get that pronounced sweet corn flavour. I like to use evaporated milk for this because it can be safely simmered without curdling, and it brings its own unique, subtle sweetness to the table. I also appreciate the texture it brings to the finished ice cream. Evaporated milk has half the water content of regular milk, so it freezes with fewer ice crystals, resulting in a richer, denser, and creamier ice cream. I think this ice cream has a good chew, if that makes any sense.

Once the corn has had a chance to simmer, remove the cobs and transfer the milk mixture to a high-powered blender or smoothie cup and blitz until smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan and add some heavy cream, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Heat the mixture to the verge of boiling, but don’t let it tip over the edge.

While heating the cream mixture, whisk to combine some egg yolks and granulated sugar. Whisk until the mixture turns a pale shade of yellow. Now, ladle in some of the hot cream mixture while whisking constantly. This will temper the eggs. Once the eggs are tempered, add them to the saucepan and gently cook the custard until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Don’t look for pastry cream or pudding-level thickness. The mixture should still be quite thin. Pour the finished ice cream base through a fine mesh strainer. Let the base cool to room temperature before transferring it to the fridge and chilling overnight. The next day, pour the base into an ice cream maker and churn it for 30 minutes before placing the ice cream into a chilled loaf pan. Freeze overnight. 

Okay, now let’s talk flourishes because a sundae isn’t a sundae without flourishes; It’s a cup of ice cream. I did think about making a hot fudge situation. But I figured with berry season waning, it would be almost wasteful not to take advantage of the local blueberries that are still plentiful in my neck of the woods. So I opted for a warm blueberry sauce instead. I also think blueberries and sweet corn are just made for each other. 

The blueberry sauce comes together in a snap. All you have to do is whisk to combine water, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Set the mixture to the side and pour a pint and a half of the berries into a small saucepan. Add some sugar and leave the berries to break down gently over medium-low heat. Once the berries are unrecognizable, stir in the cornstarch mixture and continue to cook until the sauce thickens. From here, you have the option to strain the sauce or leave it a little chunky. I chose to strain mine.

Okay, we’re on the home stretch now. Pop whatever you intend to serve your sundaes in the freezer. I went with coupes because they’re fancy and I was feeling fancy. Regular old bowls will do just fine. While your chosen dishes are chilling, pop some corn. The popcorn is here because, well, it is corn, and I think it has potential as a garnish. You rarely see it as a garnish, which I think is a shame. Its crunch is legendary, ask the movie-going public. 

You can, of course, take popcorn in any direction flavour-wise. But in this instance, I stuck with the ol’ salt and butter. I love a salty counterpoint to anything sweet because I have a muted sweet tooth, so the salty buttery crunch was a welcome break here. But you could totally swap the old faithful for caramel corn, or go whole hog into savoury terrain with a white cheddar. I fully support this brand of culinary wackiness. Experiment and have fun, and never forget that you can put cheese on pretty much anything.

Now, all that remains is to build your sundae. I like to take the sundae bar approach to serving this dessert. That way, everyone’s cup is perfectly to their liking. I build my Sweet Corn Blueberry Sundae this way: I start with Warm Blueberry Sauce as a base; to that I add two scoops of the Sweet Corn Ice Cream and another drizzle of the blueberry sauce. I finish my treat off with a generous sprinkling of popcorn. Again, you can build it your way, but I know from experience this sequence is very successful.

And that’s everything you need to know about this Sweet Corn Blueberry Sundae. Don’t forget to subscribe to my Substack to catch all of the rest of my corny delights dropping later this week! Until then!

Enjoy!