Corn-Coconut Ice Cream (Plant-Based)
Corn. She is the MOMENT. She is the icon of the dog days of summer. As vibrant as the fleeting sun of the season, this vegetable is versatile, sweet, and unique in flavor. Most folks assume that corn is used for your salads, your casseroles, and your skewers for the perfect grilled corn. But little did you know, it is also equally as delightful in sweets.
My first experience with corn as a dessert was in an ice cream shop in Rincon, Puerto Rico called Tip Top Ice Cream. After browing the long, LONG list of decadent flavors, my eyes stopped dead in their tracks as they stumbled across the corn ice cream with a dash of cinnamon. As a teen, you think I would go for mint chip or chocolate chip cookie dough, but as a virgo my senses were teased. Each bite was unlike anything I had before. Sweet, almost like caramel, warming like the summer sun, and complex (like the farming practices for this sacred crop).
This specific recipe is inspired by that scoop from the island my family calls home. Coconut, a key ingredient in Puerto Rico, is used as a substitute to heavy cream. Garden of Life’s Raw Organic Vanilla Protein acts as our thickening agent, helping the pre-frozen micture acheive peak creamy vibes. And cinnamon is added to provide the warmth we feel on our skin during the last days of summer.
Always garnish your sweets with a pinch of flaky salt and enjoy!
Corn Coconut Ice Cream (Plant-Based)
Makes: about 24 ounces
Time: 45 minutes (+ freeze time)
INGREDIENTS
2 ears of fresh corn (about 2 cups of corn kernels), sub with (1) 15-ounce can corn kernels
(1) 15-ounce can coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk
2 cups oat milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar or coconut sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 scoop of Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein, Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
DIRECTIONS
Grab your two ears of corn and hull each one. Remove the corn kernels from the cob. The safest way to do so is to lie the ear of corn down on its side and use a knife to cut off the corn kernels from every side.
Once the kernels from all the ears of corn are removed, chop the cob’s in half and set them aside (do not throw them out). To a high-speed blender, add the corn kernels, coconut cream, and the scoop of Garden of Life’s Raw Organic Vanilla Protein Powder. Blend until combined and creamy.
Add the blended corn-coconut mixture to a pot. Stir in the vanilla extract, sugar, oat milk, cinnamon, and sea salt. Mix until combined. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring consistently. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the reserved corn cobs to the pot. Remove from the heat and let the cobs steep in the mixture for 30 minutes.
After steeping time, remove the cobs and discard them. Let the mixture cool. You can then add the mixture to your ice cream maker.
If you do not have an ice cream maker, pour the ice cream into a loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Press the plastic wrap onto the surface of the mixture. Freeze overnight. Once frozen, you can choose to serve as is, or add the mixture into a blender and blend until creamy and repeat the freezing method for an even more creamy texture.
Serve with a dusting of cinnamon and a pinch of flaky salt.
Dive in!
