Corn Cream Trifles

It has already been a whirlwind summer! Two weeks ago I was in LA (read all about what I ate there). Last weekend I was in Chicago for *my first ever brand trip* and my first ever music festival, Lollapalooza. You never forget your first! And tomorrow I take the drive to Provincetown (what is it now — eight, nine hours?) where I’ll continue my reign of terror: forcing my friends to eat with me until they pop.

Updates

• If you’ve been wondering where my EGO Recommends section went, don’t worry. I’ve been saving up a bunch of the stuff I’ve been loving to share with you in a future EGO Recommends-dedicated newsletter. We will see how that goes!

• While I was in LA, my friend and fabulous baker Alex Roberts showed me how to make canelés. Chaos ensued and the three-minute video is below for you to enjoy.

@easygayovenFrench Canelés with @Alex Roberts While I was in LA I made Alex teach me how to make these fluted, custardy and crispy, golden nuggets. It went as well as it could! No Alex was harmed in the making of these caneles. Shout if you want the recipe! #caneles #canelé #frenchpastry #patisserie #frenchrecipe #bakingrecipes

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This Week’s Recipe

I wanted to send this out to you all before I leave town and while the corn is really, really good. I’ve been dreaming up a creamy corn situation for weeks — whether it was corn basil ice cream, corn creme brûlée, corn … pastry cream — finally landing on pudding. I thought I would combine said corn pudding with another item on my to-develop list: Knickerbocker Glory. Okay, I guess it’s not really Knickerbocker Glory since, after some research, it seems like that is more of an ice cream sundae than a trifle. But I have a strangely powerful sense memory of trying the British dessert on a trip to London my family took when I was young: a towering dessert glass of vanilla pastry cream, peaches, blueberries, pound cake and whipped cream. (And the restaurant called it Knickerbocker Glory!) That memory stuck! Anyway, they are really mini trifles.

I wanted to see if I could jam even more summer into this treat and, well, I got it! Pureed corn adds a subtle malty, earthy flavor that plays nice with other summer produce and also prevents the whole thing from becoming too sweet. I used an immersion blender, which works fine but I think a Vitamix or another open-top blender would get the mixture even more finely milled. Don’t use a screw-on blender like a Nutribullet (unless the corn and milk have cooled down) or you will end up with an exploding container and corn all over your kitchen.

Puddings and traditional pastry cream are like sisters, but pudding typically has fewer eggs and less fat. Pudding recipes will typically include a higher ratio of whole milk to heavy cream than pastry cream. Puddings are also typically thickened with more corn starch. This recipe is pretty forgiving, but ensuring you keep a close eye on it and stirring regularly is imperative. I’m not calling these corn pudding trifles because I don’t want folks to get them confused with corn pudding, the casserole side dish ubiquitous in the south. Which is delicious.

This recipe is also super adaptable! I mean, the pudding isn’t, really, but everything else is. I can see this working with other summer produce: raspberries, strawberries — blackberries would be incredible. Use the pudding as a starting place and go from there! I even got some store-bought cornbread to use in place of the pound cake for some corn-on-corn realness. I even made some corn ice cream with some of the leftover pudding that I thinned out with milk and cream. Should I post that recipe?

You can serve these mini trifles in little footed glasses like the ones shown, ice cream bowls, glass sundae dishes, even champagne flutes. Or, assemble it in a clear serving dish, small trifle dish, or clear bowl to make it easier and more shareable.

Corn Cream Trifles

Makes about 4 to 6 personal-size trifles

Ingredients