Summer

20 Fresh Corn and Cornmeal Dessert Recipes

Hey, they call it sweet corn for a reason.

By Joe Sevier

July 25, 2016

Round baking dish filled with vibrant purpleblack blueberries and topped with a crumbly streusel with one scoop removed.

Photo by Eva Kolenko
1/20
Blueberry and Corn Crisp
This is basically a crunchy mash-up of corn muffins and blueberry jam.
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Photo by David Loftus
2/20
Sweet Corn Ice Cream With Butterscotch
Sweet summer corn makes a surprising star turn in this ultra-creamy dessert flecked with rich butterscotch sauce and crunchy caramel popcorn.
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3/20
Grilled Apricots with Almond Cream and Fregolotta
For this dessert recipe, the dough for fregolotta, an Italian cookie, is broken up into small pieces, then baked. And you may end up with some extra. Save it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. It’s great over ice cream and Nutella.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
4/20
Indian Pudding
A scoop of cold vanilla ice cream sets off this sweet cornmeal pudding, spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and molasses.
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Photo by Steven Freeman
5/20
Skillet Corn Cake with Stewed Cherries
This entire dessert, from the sweet, tender cornmeal cake to the luscious cherry topping, goes from batter to table in just 40 minutes.
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Photo by Tara Donne, food and prop styling by Ali Nardi
6/20
Caramel Corn Blondies
These crunchy blondies put store-bought caramel corn to work.
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Tom Schierlitz, food styling by Brian Preston-Campbell
7/20
Corn Flour Shortcakes with Blackberries and Whipped Cream
In this gluten-free take on shortcake, the naturally-sweet flavor of corn shines through the delicate, spongy cake, making a wonderful base for blackberries and cream.
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donna hay magazine, photography by Chris Court
8/20
Caramel Popcorn, Salted Almond, and Malt Cookies
If you like butterscotch chips and nuts in your cookies, then you're going to love caramel corn and almonds.
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Jason Lowe
9/20
Coconut-Corn Ice Cream with Brown-Sugar Syrup and Peanuts
A fresh corn–and–coconut milk base, combined with a spiced brown sugar drizzle and a garnish of lime zest and peanuts, gives these sundaes a hint of Southeast Asia.
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Romulo Yanes
10/20
Concord Grape Cornmeal Cake
Pack slices of this tender cake into lunch boxes for a sweet mid-day treat.
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Nigel Cox
11/20
Corn Panna Cotta with Dulce de Leche
Sweet corn custard and rich caramel sauce come together to make a refreshing dessert that's as delicious as it is surprising.
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Romulo Yanes
12/20
Cornmeal Sugar Cookies
To turn the corn factor up even more, use these cookies as a vehicle for sweet corn ice cream.
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Peter Frank Edwards
13/20
Strawberry-Almond Cornmeal Cake
Equal parts fruit crumble and coffee cake, this not-too-sweet dessert starts out bright pink but bakes to a toasty golden brown.
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Photo by The Chew
14/20
Sticky and Sweet Popcorn
Make this caramel corn your own by switching out the cranberries and walnuts in the recipe for whatever dried fruit and nuts you prefer.
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Francesco Tonelli
15/20
Plum and Polenta Cake
This easy cake makes a wonderful substitute for coffee cake. With sweet plums baked right into the cornmeal batter, little else is needed to finish it off.
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Roland Bello
16/20
Toasted Sweet Corn Pudding
This Pennsylvania Dutch classic separates into two layers as it cooks. On top, it's a creamy buttermilk custard; underneath, it's a chewy, toasty layer of sweet corn.
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Romulo Yanes
17/20
Pear Maple Johnnycake
Looking for a fast weeknight dessert? Johnnycake—essentially a cross between a pancake and corn bread—isn't fancy, but it's delicious when made with delicate pears and maple syrup.
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Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott
18/20
Apple and Blackberry Polenta Cobbler
A hint of polenta (or cornmeal) in the biscuit topping adds a wonderful aroma as this cobbler bakes, and a bit of crunch once it hits the plate.
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Photo by Dan Monick
19/20
Upside-Down Blood Orange–Polenta Cake
While blood oranges make a stunning presentation, any sweet citrus can be used in its place, such as navel or cara cara oranges, or even Meyer lemons.
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José Picayo
20/20
Orange Polenta Cake with Vanilla-Scented Plums and Blackberries and Buttermilk Ice Cream
Add an enticing layer of summer flavor by grilling thick slices of this polenta cake for a few minutes before topping with juicy fruit and freshly-whipped cream.
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Following stints at StarChefs and Saveur, Joe joined Epicurious in 2016 where he’s written about how to make the very best biscuits, the singularity of third-culture cooking, and the ultimate cream cheese frosting. Currently, he works across both BA and Epi as the senior SEO editor for cooking stories, which ... Read More

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