This Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Salted Caramel recipe yields a creamy sweet corn ice cream base made with fresh sweet corn and popcorn, and is swirled with salted caramel with bay leaf. I use corn kernels, corn cobs, corn silk and corn husks from fresh corn in this homemade ice cream to flavor the custard base for maximum corn flavor. Bay leaf adds flavor depth to the salted caramel that when paired with the corn, evokes a caramel popcorn flavor.
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This sweet corn ice cream tastes like eating freshly buttered corn on the cob and your favorite caramel corn, all in one. I used Day With Mei's method from one of my favorite corn ice cream recipes. She uses the entire ear of corn (cob, husk and all) to give a strong sweet corn flavor to the ice cream base. The caramel sauce is a salted caramel with bay leaf. Bay leaf adds a subtle flavor that really just works. And it's very easy to do. You just add bay leaves to the caramel after cooking and it steeps for awhile while the caramel cools.
I love using fresh summer corn in baking. The natural sweetness of corn lends itself to desserts. Last summer, I made this peanut butter corn cake, that pairs the sweetness of the corn with peanut butter, as a nod to peanut butter corn cereal. Two summers ago I made a corn layer cake, which is all corn everything, including a corn pastry cream, corn frosting and corn cake layers.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- The corn flavor is natural and bold!
- This recipe uses the entire ear of corn.
- The salted caramel sauce adds a balancing saltiness and is easy to make.
Ingredients
- Fresh corn flavors the ice cream.
- Heavy cream and whole milk are the creamy base for the custard.
- Granulated sugar sweetens the base and the salted caramel.
- Egg yolks provide richness and structure to the custard.
- Vanilla extract and kosher salt balance the overall flavor profile.
- Unsalted butter adds richness to the salted caramel.
- Popcorn adds even more corn flavor to the base.
- Lemon juice prevents crystallization in the caramel.
- Bay leaf (not pictured) adds a touch of flavor to the salted caramel.
- I used caramel corn for garnish on top of the ice cream and it adds a nice crunch, but is optional.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
Here's how to customize this sweet corn ice cream with salted caramel to your liking:
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- Salted caramel swap — swap for store-bought caramel or fruit jam. Blueberry or strawberry would excellent here.
- Half and half — swap the 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cream for half and half. Keep the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream.
- Another sweetener — swap the granulated sugar in the ice cream base for the same amount of light brown sugar or ⅔ cup honey.
- Spices — add a touch of chili powder or black pepper to the custard for a sweet heat.
- Ice cream sandwiches — sandwich a scoop of the ice cream between sugar cookies or chocolate chip cookies to make corn ice cream sandwiches.
- No popcorn — omit the popcorn without issue.
This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions or variations. If you try any, please let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
How to make sweet corn ice cream with salted caramel
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper. Shuck the corn, discarding any damaged husks, reserving the rest. Separate the corn silk, corn kernels, and cob, reserving all of them separately. Place the husks on the prepared pan and bake for 13-15 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown. While the husks are baking, pop the popcorn kernels in the microwave or on the stove. In a blender (or in a container with an immersion mixer), add the freshly-popped popcorn, fresh corn kernels, whole milk, 1 cup of the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Blend just until smooth. Transfer this mixture to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat and stir until simmering and all of the sugar is dissolved.
Step 2: In a medium heatproof bowl, continually whisk the egg yolks while very slowly streaming in the warm corn milk mixture into the egg yolks. Add the entire yolk mixture back to the saucepan. Return to the stove and whisk continuously while cooking on medium-low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (or reaches 170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream, roasted corn husks, corn silk and corn cob. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight to let the mixture steep.
Step 3: The caramel can be made 1-2 days before, if desired, or on the day you make the custard. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the granulated sugar and lemon juice. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the sugar is completely melted. When the sugar is completely melted, add the butter and stir with a whisk until combined. Be careful as the mixture will sputter and bubble up. Once the butter is incorporated, stir constantly while gradually adding the heavy cream. Be careful, again, as the mixture will sputter and bubble up. Once combined, stop stirring and boil for 1 minute or until the caramel reaches 220°F. Remove from the heat, stir in the kosher salt, then pour into a heatproof container with two bay leaves to cool to at least room temperature before using.
Step 4: Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl, discarding the solids. Pour the strained custard into your ice cream machine and churn it according to the manufacturer's instructions. I used the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment and it took about 30 minutes to churn on the lowest setting. Fill your container with the churned soft ice cream, drizzling in some of the cooled salted caramel sauce as you go. You will have plenty of salted caramel leftover, and can use it for serving. Cover the ice cream container and freeze until solid (overnight or at least 4 hours) before scooping.
Top tips
- The custard must be completely cold before churning. I like to make sure it is at least 40°F before pouring it in the ice cream maker. I pour mine into a resealable bag and place it into a bowl of ice and put it in the refrigerator to chill it faster.
- Another great way to prevent crystallization in the caramel is to cook it with the lid on. This traps moisture and the moisture helps all of the sugar crystals dissolve.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, absolutely. Omit the bay leaf from the salted caramel without issue.
Use sweet, very yellow corn. I recommend picking it out yourself, peeling the husks back to find the most yellow kernels possible.
You can use light cream in place of the 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream. I do not recommend omitting ALL of the heavy cream. You need to use at least 1 cup of heavy cream.
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Lastly, if you make this Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Salted Caramel recipe be sure to leave a comment or give it a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Salted Caramel
Equipment
Ingredients
Sweet corn ice cream
- 1 ear of sweet yellow corn with husk
- 1 cup whole milk (8 oz)
- 2 cups of heavy cream divided (16 oz, 500g)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (165g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt use ¼ teaspoon if using table salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoon popcorn kernels (28g)
- ¼ cup caramel corn optional garnish
Salted caramel with bay leaf
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter (85g) room temperature, cut into 6 pieces
- ½ cup heavy cream (125g, 120ml) room temperature
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt use ½ teaspoon if using table salt
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Do ahead
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper.
Prepare the corn
- Shuck the corn, discarding any damaged husks, reserving the rest. Separate the corn silk, corn kernels, and cob, reserving all of them separately.
- Place the husks on the prepared pan and bake for 13-15 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown.
- While the husks are baking, pop the popcorn kernels in the microwave or on the stove.
Blend
- In a blender, add the freshly-popped popcorn, fresh corn kernels, whole milk, 1 cup of the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Blend just until smooth.
- Transfer this mixture to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat and stir until simmering and all of the sugar is dissolved.
Temper the egg yolks
- In a medium heatproof bowl, continually whisk the egg yolks while very slowly streaming in the warm corn milk mixture into the egg yolks. Add the entire mixture back to the saucepan.
- Return to the stove and whisk continuously while cooking on medium low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (or reaches 170°F on an instant-read thermometer).
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream, roasted corn husks, corn silk and corn cob.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
Make the caramel
- The caramel can be made 1-2 days before, if desired, or on the day you make the custard.
- In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the granulated sugar and lemon juice. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the sugar is completely melted.
- When the sugar is completely melted, add the butter and stir with a whisk until combined. Be careful as the mixture will sputter and bubble up.
- Once the butter is incorporated, stir constantly while gradually adding the heavy cream. Be careful, again, as the mixture will sputter and bubble up. Once combined, stop stirring and boil for 1 minute or until the caramel reaches 220°F.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the kosher salt, then pour into a heatproof container with 2 bay leaves to cool to at least room temperature before using. Remove the bay leaves before transferring to the refrigerator for storage.
Churn the ice cream
- Strain the chilled corn-steeped custard through a fine mesh sieve, discarding the solids. Pour the strained custard into your ice cream maker and churn it according to the manufacturer's instructions. I used the Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker Attachment and it took about 30 minutes to churn on the lowest setting.
- Fill your container with the churned soft ice cream, drizzling in some of the cooled salted caramel sauce as you go. You will have plenty of salted caramel leftover, and can use it for serving. Cover the ice cream container and freeze until solid (overnight or at least 4 hours) before scooping.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published 07/09/2025.
The corn flavor is robust and the bay leaf in the caramel is a great pairing! Full disclosure I am the author of this recipe.