I’m no statistician but I’m confident that there are likely more people throughout the world whose cultures celebrate corn in dessert form than there are those who think it’s weird. Nevertheless, you might need warming up here, ironic, when it comes in the form of something frozen — corn, raspberry, and mascarpone ice cream. This inspiration came to me via another, entirely savoury recipe that I’ll also post about down the line at a discreet remove; but it’s implicitly influenced by all those corn-based desserts and puddings consumed worldwide; if not by the same logic that presumably drove those recipes into existence: corn is sweet! Where else are you going to put it?

Still, let me paint you a picture, since I’ve taken all these photos and might as well vamp for the camera. Is this ice cream easy? Not really! Look at how long my instructions are and how often I say “in another bowl”! Is it cheap? Also not really, sorry! But then, literally nothing is cheap right now and I’ve lost all value of a dollar through the capriciousness of about five to seven CEOs and their proletariat-bludgeoning whims! Is it a crowd-pleaser? Could be, but it really depends on who you’re rolling with!

Now that I’ve painted myself into a corner, let me paint myself out of it: several years ago I made a risotto with something called corn butter, which is pureed, heated corn that, to quote, “has the texture of expensive moisturiser with the flavour of corn to the power of corn times corn…like corn yelling its own name through a megaphone”. Although that’s not the savoury recipe that inspired this ice cream, that same process applies here, preserving yet intensifying the kernel-popping juicily mellow distilled-goldenrod sweetness of sweetcorn on the cob, pairing it with the sprightly, fresh sourness of raspberries and then, for good measure, adding the clean, cool, fat butteriness of mascarpone, the natural midpoint between these two ingredients. I have deviated from my usual cream-plus-condensed-milk method; suspecting that the corn needed something more airy and creamy instead of dense and sugary; this is a sort of semifreddo approach with partially-cooked, vigorously whipped whole eggs and sugar, lightened with just enough cream to not destabilise its foundations.

The result is rapturous, though I can’t pretend it’s not hard work getting there, what with the pureeing and the sieving and the heating and the endless whisking but this ice cream is so — celestial yet earthy, so rich yet triple-time-stepping across the tongue. It’s hard to know which more evokes pure sunshine, the technicolour shades of golden and carmine; the corn flavour so potent it makes you feel not unlike a scarecrow suspended amidst a cornfield against a blue-painted sky; the sorbet-like raspberries and their contrition-free zinginess — or simply the fact that it’s ice cream.

And of course, you never, ever need to capitulate to Big Ice Cream Maker: this, like all my recipes, is no-churn.

I like to tell myself that every morning is a little new year, but over the weekend it really was the new year — Matariki — and although I’ve entered this year feeling rather like that sock that goes missing off the line amidst a sudden rainstorm and which you later find waterlogged in the gutter and have to make a snap decision on whether to wash it and try again or throw it out in sensory-derived horror, thus creating an irrevocable chasm between the discarded and the remaining sock; I’m also glad I got to spend Matariki with whānau, saw the peeled night sky, watched the lemon-segment moon rise, and upheld family traditions old and new (by “new” I mean I brought some homemade passionfruit liqueur with me.)

If after all this you’re feeling even further corn-inclined, I recommend trying the aforementioned Corn Butter Risotto or my Chilli Corn Macaroni; both exemplary uses of this versatile vegetable.

Corn, raspberry, and mascarpone ice cream

Buttery corn, the lilting tang of raspberries, and mascarpone occupying the exact space between the two. It’s a little fiddly upfront (and you’ll need a blender or food processor), but it’s glorious, not too sweet — and no-churn, of course! Recipe by myself.

• 2 x vacuum-packaged sweetcorn on the cob
• 125ml boiling water
• 2 large eggs
• 7 tablespoons of sugar
• 125ml mascarpone
• 300ml cream
• 100g frozen raspberries (or fresh, but even then…just go frozen)

1: First, the corn. Using a large knife, pare the corn from the two cobs – the damp kernels should slice off easily. Break or slice the naked cobs in half, place them in a heatproof bowl, and pour over the 125ml boiling water, then set aside for five to ten minutes to extract even more corn flavour.

2: Place all the kernels and the 125ml (and there’s no good way to say this) corn-cob-flavoured water into a high speed blender or food processor, and puree very thoroughly. If you’re using a food processor this might take a little longer. Press this blindingly yellow mixture through a sieve into a pan, stirring and scraping with a spatula to extract as much velvety smooth puree as possible. To be honest with you I just ate the leftover corn pulp, but there’s probably several non-wasteful ways to dispose of it by adding it to something else you’re cooking.

3: Stir the velvety sieved corn puree over a low heat – with that same spatula – until it thickens up a little and resembles lemon curd, this should take no more than a couple of minutes. Spatula into a bowl and set aside.

4: We’re a third of the way there – now for the eggs. Crack the two eggs into a metal, heatproof bowl, add the seven tablespoons of sugar, and rest the bowl on top of a pan of water and let it come to a simmer — making sure that the bowl is nowhere near touching the water. While it’s warming up, heartily whisk the eggs and sugar together, or, if you have electric beaters, I cannot lie, they’ll make the job significantly easier. That being said, I don’t have any, and here we are. Keep whisking persistently, not letting the water get too hot, until the eggs and sugar have grown very pale, thick, and increased in volume — at which point, remove the pan from the heat, remove the bowl from the top of the pan, and continue to beat the eggs and sugar, off the heat, for another two minutes, during which time they should grow even thicker and paler.

5: We’re at the final hurdle. At this point, gently fold in the 125ml mascarpone and the somewhat cooled corn puree. In another bowl (sorry) gently whip the 300ml cream, either by hand with a whisk or using those electric beaters, which you probably don’t have to bother cleaning. Keep going until the cream is just whipped, barely holding its shape, but definitely increased in volume with an altered texture. Fold this into the corn-mascarpone mix, and then finally fold in the 100g frozen raspberries.

6: Spatula this gorgeous mixture into a standard loaf tin or other freezer-proof vessel. Refrigerate for two hours, then freeze for six hours or overnight, without touching.

You will need to let this sit on the bench for about fifteen to twenty minutes before serving, but it’s worth, I hope, the wait. This is at its best consumed within a week, after that the texture starts to falter a little.

Notes:

• I’ve tried this with just one corn cob. It’s fine, but for this level of effort (and flavour) you need two. On the other hand, it could probably definitely accommodate three if you want to really push the boat of corn out.
• 7 tablespoons is a shade under 1/2 cup sugar, if you’re feeling irritated by that much spooning.
• I haven’t tried this with canned or frozen whole corn kernels, logic would suggest it’s possible but there’s something about the corn that’s still clinging to the cob!
• If it’s easier to use frozen mixed berries, go right ahead — they’re all friends here.

music lately:

Maryan by Robert Wyatt. Summery yet wistful and melancholy. Like if you’re reminiscing about corn, raspberry, and mascarpone ice cream but you don’t have any more in the freezer.

I think about it all the time by Charli XCX, one of those titles where you’re like, “say no more” but then she says “my career feels so small in the existential scheme of it all” and then you’re like, “no I mean it, stop voicing my concerns, I’m unwilling to face them with such an air of transparent bluntness”; anyway I like this album a lot, it reminds me of downloading Uffie from limewire and yet also feels very present in a five-things-you-can-see, four-things-you-can-touch way.

23, by Blonde Redhead. I saw them perform the other week when they were here in Auckland and they were wonderful, but what was especially wonderful was that they performed this ethereal cement mixer of a song — I love when the chorus starts here and then goes up and makes you feel like you’re in danger but you want to canter towards it instead of away; that’s about as accurately as I can describe the experience. I also loved that lead singer Kazu (and later, the microphone stand) wore a keffiyeh; and that the band charmingly threw their setlists into the crowd. Did I catch any? No, but it’s nice to have the opportunity nonetheless!

PS: As I’ve said previously, ReliefAid’s Gaza Appeal is important to me. Their team, through perishingly difficult circumstances, are on the ground trying to help. It’s been a while since their last update at the end of May but if you’re looking for relief effort to support, I suggest them as a starting point.