Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Peanuts

By davidv

"For all of you corn-on-the-cob lovers out there—and I know there's a lot of you—this a must-try. It's sweet and buttery with a hint of salt."—David

Tip: This recipe must be made with fresh ears of corn. Frozen or canned corn will not produce same results.

Ingredients

• Ice Cream:
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed and cobs halved
• 8 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Brittle:
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup blanched salted peanuts
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

Details

Adapted from qvc.co

Preparation

Step 1

To prepare the ice cream, add the milk, heavy cream, sweet corn kernels, and cobs into a medium-size saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture steep for 1 hour. Then, bring the mixture back up to a slow simmer, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the cobs.

Remove the pan from the heat. Use a fine strainer to strain the liquid into a clean saucepan. (Make sure to squeeze out the juice from the kernels by pressing them with a ladle or the back of a spoon.)

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a medium-size bowl. Whisk about 1/3 of the heated milk mixture into the egg mixture. Then, introduce the rest of the milk into the egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly.

Pour the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan. Return the pan to the heat and stir gently until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2–3 minutes. Do not allow the mixture to boil.

Chill the mixture until cold. Then pour it into the canister of an ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

To prepare the brittle, first line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the mixture just starts to turn amber. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the peanuts and cinnamon, and immediately pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Working quickly, with a heat-proof silicone spatula, evenly spread the mixture out. Sprinkle with sea salt and let the brittle harden.

When the brittle has completely cooled, break it into several large pieces and place it into a zip-top plastic bag. Use a meat tenderizer or rolling pin to crush the brittle into small bits, about the size of chocolate chips. Sprinkle on top of the ice cream just before serving.