The 3-Ingredient Combo That Turns Corn Into A Refreshing Dessert

Corn, it's the perfect addition to a summer meal or as a delicious street food. Can you imagine a more beautiful thing? With just a few ingredients, you can turn corn into an even more beautiful summer dessert. That's right, corn is not just for grilling. Take advantage of peak sweet corn season to make mais con yelo, a creamy, layered iced corn dessert from the Philippines. Like the more commonly known dessert dish halo-halo, this treat is a parfait that you can customize to your liking.

Also known as mais con hielo, it's super simple to make, and chances are you have all the ingredients on hand. To make mais con yelo, you'll want to start with the sweetest corn you can find. It is a dessert, after all. During the sweet corn season of May through September, your best option is to use corn fresh off the cob. To select the perfect corn, follow this guide that uses the silk test. Outside of sweet corn season, canned or frozen corn will do just fine. In fact, you will often find that some frozen corn tastes sweeter than fresh.

In addition to corn, you'll need just three more ingredients: shaved or finely cut ice, milk, and sugar. Many recipes use a combination of condensed and evaporated milk rather than regular milk to give the dish a bit of extra creaminess. If you choose to make it that way, you can omit the sugar because the condensed and evaporated milks will be sweet enough on their own.  

As it is a layered dish, mais con yelo looks best in tall glasses like parfait glasses — or get creative in a tall mason jar. You can also use any bowl you have. Start by adding corn kernels at the bottom, then top with shaved ice. Next, sprinkle with sugar, then pour in half a cup of milk. Finish the dish with toppings like ice cream, corn flakes, Rice Krispies, ube jam, coconut flakes, caramel sauce, or flan custard. In the Philippines, mais con yelo is often topped with cheese or corn-flavored ice cream, which you can find in Asian grocery stores like 99 Ranch Market and H Mart. Serve immediately to enjoy it before it melts, and mix the layers with a spoon to taste the blend of flavors.