Sweet Corn Custard Tarts

Summer corn season is one of my favorites. I always buy extra ears of corn and freeze the kernels for a mid-winter pick-me-up. As I was prepping a batch of corn, I was reminded how much flavor is in the cobs: don’t throw them away! I’ve used them to make corn stock for an amazing chicken corn soup. This week, I used them to flavor milk and made a sweet corn custard that I loaded into tart shells but you could also eat that custard directly from the fridge. (And, yes, I tested that theory just for you, dear market shoppers.) 

1 recipe pie dough (optional)

2-3 corn cobs

2 cups milk 

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp corn starch

pinch salt

4 egg yolks

2 Tbsp butter 

If using, roll out the pie dough to fit your tart tins, I used 4” tins. Blind bake the tarts and set aside. Put the milk and corn cobs in a saucepan and heat to a simmer. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to let the milk infuse for half an hour or so. Once milk has cooled, prepare an ice water bath. In a bowl, stir together sugar, corn starch, and salt. Whisk in the yolks until smooth. Remove the cobs from the milk and discard cobs. Slowly stream the milk into the egg mixture, whisking until smooth, then return the whole thing to the saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until custard thickens. Once it bubbles, stir for 5 more minutes, remove from heat and stir in the butter. Strain into a bowl and place in ice bath to stop the cooking. To assemble, divide the custard among the tart shells, or skip the tarts and serve as-is. I liked the custard cold from the fridge but it was also nice at room temp. Serves 6.