Homemade Cornbread Ice Cream

This cornbread ice cream is one of the best things I’ve made all year. It’s a vanilla honey cornmeal custard base stuffed with pieces of cornbread and it feels like the absolute perfect summer ice cream flavor.

You do need an ice cream churner for this recipe and it’s well worth it. I just use a simple machine where you freeze the bowl first, and the churning process gives you a smooth, airy ice cream that has the perfect texture. You can use any fresh cornbread you like here, but I love a really soft, cake-like version that freezes well. Let me show you how to make it!

How to Make Cornbread Ice Cream

Start off by making your cornbread if you’re making it from scratch- I like this recipe. For the custard base, it’s a simple vanilla custard with the addition of some cornmeal, so we’re using cream, milk, egg yolks, cornmeal, sugar, vanilla, honey, and salt.

Start by stirring together the cream, milk, honey, sugar, and cornmeal in a medium saucepan and heating this mixture until steaming and just starting to simmer.

While that heats, whisk together your egg yolks and remaining sugar in a small bowl- you want to whisk until the yolks begin to slightly lighten in color. Then whisk in a laddle-full of the hot milk mixture, and pour everything back into the pot. Cook, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.

Pour the mixture into a heat safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to avoid a skin forming. Then chill this mixture until it’s completely cold. Once it’s chilled, I like to use an immersion blender to mix the custard and smooth out any lumps formed from the cornmeal.

Then it’s time to churn the ice cream. You want to churn it according to your machine’s instructions- for me this takes about 20-25 minutes of churning until the ice cream has reached a thick soft-serve consistency.

Stir in your cubes of cornbread at this point, working quickly to avoid the ice cream melting. Then transfer it into your freezer container and freeze for at least 4 hours or until frozen solid before scooping and enjoying!

Tips & Tricks for Cornbread Ice Cream

Here are my tips to help along the way:

• Does this recipe require an ice cream churner? Yes, you need to have an ice cream machine to make this recipe- it requires churning.
• Do I have to make cornbread from scratch? No, you can use any cornbread you like- but I love my recipe and I think you want to go for something on the softer side for this one.
• Do I have to use an immersion blender? The cornmeal will thicken the custard a bit, and the blending step helps ensure a smooth, silky ice cream so I recommend this step.
• How do I know when the ice cream is finished churning? Your ice cream should reach a thick soft-serve-like consistency when it’s finished churning. It should look lightened in color and thick.
• What can I freeze the ice cream in after churning? I like to use plastic deli containers or a metal loaf pan covered tightly with plastic wrap to freeze my ice cream in. Optionally, you can of course also order paper ice cream cartons online if you like.
• Will this ice cream be hard to scoop? I find that it’s fairly easy to scoop even when frozen completely- the honey helps to keep it fairly soft for scooping. However, depending on the texture of your cornbread and how cold your freezer is, you may need to let the ice cream rest for a couple of minutes on the counter before freezing.

Enjoy!

Print

Homemade Cornbread Ice Cream

Servings 1 quart

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs. granulated sugar separated
• 1/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract or paste
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups cubed cornbread

Instructions

1. Freeze your ice cream maker bowl ahead of time to ensure it is completely frozen for churning.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the heavy cream, milk, 1/2 cup sugar, cornmeal, honey, vanilla extract/paste, and salt. Heat this mixture over medium heat until it begins to lightly simmer.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
4. Once the cream mixture is simmering, slowly pour about 1 cup of the mixture into your yolk mixture while constantly whisking. Then carefully pour the entire yolk mixture back into the pan and return to the heat.
5. Whisk the mixture constantly until it becomes thickened- you should be able to see the whisk marks holding in the mixture as you stir it. Once thickened, be sure to continue to whisk the mixture for an additional 1-2 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a heat-proof bowl to remove any lumps that formed while the mixture cooked. Cover the bowl by placing plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard. Chill the custard completely before churning- at least 2 hours.
7. Once chilled, optionally blend the custard for about a minute with an immersion blender to smooth everything out completely. Then, churn the ice cream according to your machine’s standard instructions. For me, it takes about 20 minutes for the mixture to reach the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
8. Stir in the cubed cornbread until well distributed, and transfer the mixture to your freezer container and freeze the ice cream for at least 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Nicole Hampton

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!