Mais con Yelo (Filipino Sweet Corn Dessert)

Mais con yelo (sometimes maiz con hielo) is a popular Filipino dessert made of sweet corn, ice and milk. It’s delicious, refreshing and very easy to make. You’ll want to make it every day this summer!

(Love sweet corn? Try smooth and creamy maja blanca — a chilled corn dessert topped with cheese or coconut. And saging con yelo is another delicious dessert to try.)

Mais con yelo (“corn with ice” when translated to English) is a layered Filipino dessert that’s similar to the more popular halo-halo.

Unlike halo-halo though, mais con yelo only consists of sweet corn, milk and shaved ice. It doesn’t make it less delicious though; in fact I prefer its simpler, more refreshing flavor.

Plus, it’s easy to jazz up to make the best glass of mais con yelo ever.

Let’s get to it.

Why you’ll love making this mais con yelo recipe

• Simple ingredients.You won’t need to buy several different jars of ingredients; just sweet corn, creamed corn, condensed milk, evaporated milk and ice.

• Easy to customize. But if you want to me it extra special, you can! Top with ice cream, corn flakes, cheese, leche flan, ube jam and more.

• Easy to assemble. After you have everything, all you’ll need to do is layer your ingredients in a glass (or any serving container you like), mix and enjoy.

How to make

There is no cooking involved here. You just need to put everything together.

Ingredients

You’ll need:

• Sweet corn kernels — I use canned sweet corn but you can use fresh corn if you like. Cook then shave off the kernels.

• Creamed corn — I also use canned creamed corn but you can also make this from scratch. Just make sure that the recipe you’re using is not very buttery; you don’t want your mais con yelo to be oily.

• Condensed milk — other recipes use granulated sugar or brown sugar as sweetener but I find that using condensed milk results to a creamier mixture. And besides, Filipinos love their desserts with condensed milk!

• Evaporated milk — best to use full-fat evaporated milk. Skim milk or fresh milk can work, but it won’t give you that full, creamy flavor that evaporated milk has.

• Shaved ice — crushed ice will work too.

Optional (but highly recommended) toppings include corn flakes and ice cream.

Tools

The only tool you need to make this recipe is an ice shaver. I love using the ice shave attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer. 

But there are so many other options available, like:

• A manual ice shaver
• An electric snow cone machine
• Or a blender, though note that depending on the power of your blender, the ice might not come out as fine as you’d like

Assembly

How you assemble your sweet corn crushed ice dessert is entirely up to you. The amounts in the recipe card is how I make mine but you can adjust to taste. 

Expert tips

There are some things to keep in mind though for perfect mais con yelo every time.

• Put enough corn. When layering your dessert, for best results ensure that you put enough corn before putting in the ice. I make sure it makes up at least ⅓ of the glass.

• Easy on the condensed milk. You don’t want the condensed milk to overpower the sweet corn so avoid adding too much. I usually add between 1 and 2 teaspoons. It’s easy to add more later if you want it sweeter.

• The sweeter the corn, the better. I like to buy peaches and cream corn kernels because they’re sweeter. If you can get your hands on fresh sweet corn, even better!

• Pile on the toppings. Lastly, don’t be afraid to top with your favorite things. We usually do vanilla ice cream and corn flakes, but the possibilities are endless.

Recipe FAQs

Filipino cold dessert recipes

Looking for more delicious treats to beat the heat? Try these:

Enjoy and have a wonderful summer!

Did you make this delicious Filipino treat? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below.You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!

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