There is no greater love than my love for corn and this corn tiramisu is the grandest display of my love. After making my cereal milk tiramisu not too long ago, I’ve been wanting to make another version of tiramisu with a not-so-traditional tiramisu ingredient but one that I love in its many other forms. Apparently July is the monthlong declaration of my love of corn (see: sweet corn ice cream and corn popsicle), it only seemed right to make corn tiramisu as part of this unofficial series.
Corn flavour is incorporated in three ways into this tiramisu: corn purée is added to the mascarpone cream filling, the lady fingers are soaked in a Korean corn tea, and the tiramisu is topped with crushed corn cereal.
- Corn Mascarpone Cream: Find the sweetest summer corn you can get your hands on for the corn purée because this is the where the majority of the corn flavour will be incorporated into the dessert. I don’t recommend using frozen or canned corn because the flavour will not be as pronounced. I got three fresh ears of local summer corn and it created a much more fragrant and sweeter corn flavour than prepackaged corn.
After making the corn puree, it is folded into the mascarpone cream mixture. Though it might not be traditional to find cream cheese in the mascarpone cream mixture, I found adding cream cheese provided both an extra layer of flavour to balance our the sweetness of corn as well as added body to the cream filling.
- Korean Corn Tea (oksusu-cha): Korean corn tea is a caffeine-free tea made from from corn kernels, corn silk, or a combination of both. The flavour of corn tea is less distinctively ‘corn,’ but more so of a general roasted flavour with a mild nuttiness. Corn tea can be found at Korean grocery stores. Barley tea would be a good substitute. Each lady finger is quickly dipped in the corn tea (instead of espresso like in a traditional tiramisu) before being layered with the corn mascarpone cream
- Corn topping: Instead of topping the tiramisu with cocoa powder, we sprinkle on a generous amount of crushed corn cereal right before serving. This will help maintain the texture of the cereal. Each tiramisu serving is also topped with a piece of corn brûlée to really tie in the theme
The corn tiramisu is sweet, its light, and is reminiscent of biting into a bright yellow cob in the middle of summer.
Corn Tiramisu
There is no greater love than my love for corn and this corn tiramisu is the grandest display of my love. Corn flavour is incorporated in three ways into this not-so-traditional tiramisu: corn purée is added to the mascarpone cream filling, the lady fingers are soaked in a Korean corn tea, and the tiramisu is topped with crushed corn cereal. The last step is optional, but I love adding a piece of corn brûlée right on top. The corn tiramisu is sweet, its light, and is reminiscent of biting into a bright yellow cob in the middle of summer.
Makes 4
Ingredients
Corn Tea Soak
- 4 tea bags Korean corn tea (oksusu-cha)
- 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) water
Corn Purée
- 435 g (~ 2 1/2 ears of corn) corn kernels
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
Corn Mascarpone Cream
- 125 g (half block) full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 227 g (1 8oz container) mascarpone, cold
- 2 large egg yolks, cold
- 50 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Assembly
- 24 lady fingers
- 1/2 cup corn cereal of choice, crushed
Instructions
Corn Tea Soak
- In a mason jar, add four corn tea bags and water. Allow the tea to steep overnight in the fridge. Alternatively, brew the tea with hot water and allow tea bags to steep for at least 15 minutes. Allow hot tea to return back to room temperature before using.
Corn Purée
- In a large pot with a steamer basket, steam 3 ears of corn over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove corn from pot and allow it to cool for ten minutes.
- With a sharp knife, remove kernels from the cob. You will need 435g of corn kernels, which is about 2 large cobs or 3 medium-sized cobs. (Optional: reserve 4 larger pieces of corn, this will be the corn brûlée topping.)
- Transfer kernels to a blender. Add heavy cream to to the blender and blend on high speed until smooth.
- Transfer corn puree to the refrigerator to chill. I like spreading the puree on a quarter sheet pan or large plate to speed up the chilling process.
Corn Mascarpone Cream
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until smooth.
- Add mascarpone, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and salt to the bowl. Mix on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
Assembly
- Dip each ladyfinger in corn tea and arrange ladyfingers at bottom of baking dish in a single, even layer. You can use a 8×8 dish or use 4 individual containers (pictured above). If using individual containers each layer of lady fingers will be 3 lady fingers.
- Add half of the corn mascarpone cream filling on top of the first layer of ladyfingers and smooth it out with an offset spatula.
- Dip remaining ladyfingers into the corn tea and arrange it on top of the mascarpone cream layer. Add remaining corn mascarpone cream and smooth out the top.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap so it hits the surface of the tiramisu. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
- When ready to serve, top with crushed corn cereal.
- Optional: sprinkle granulated sugar on top of reserved pieces of corn. Torch with culinary torch until sugar caramelizes and forms a crust. Top each portion of tiramisu with a piece of corn brûlée.
Cindy says
Hi! I don’t think the corn puree was. mentioned in the steps? Does it get mixed with the mascarpone? Excited to try this recipe! 🙂