035 / 75 · Lunch Plates and Buffet Slices
Tuna Sweetcorn Cream Cheese Cups
4 spoonable tuna-corn cream-cheese cups, about 145–150 ml each; small cold fish-course portions · Active 30 min · Total 6 hr 30 min
Print recipe · PDFThese soft-set tuna and corn cups are eaten with a spoon, so they need less gelatin than an unmolded ring. Cream cheese smooths the base and yellow corn kernels remain distinct. Four small portions are a cold fish course or substantial starter.
A cup allows a softer set
The four dishes stay upright and are not dipped or inverted. Seven grams of gelatin gives a spoonable body to a thick cream-cheese mixture, with a minimum four-hour chill. It is deliberately a different texture from a sharply cut terrine. Choose wide shallow refrigerator-safe cups so the spoon can reach all the ingredients, cover them and keep them cold until service.
Small flakes keep tuna from forming a cap
Drain ready-to-eat canned tuna, then break it into small flakes with a fork. The corn is also drained and patted dry. Fold both into the cooled dairy base before portioning, giving the bowl a gentle stir between scoops. That spreads the 50 grams of tuna assigned to each cup instead of leaving a dense last scoop. Do not blend the fish into a paste or add its can liquid. Cream cheese supplies the smooth matrix; extra mayonnaise is not needed. The fish storage clock includes the setting time, even when the cups look firm enough to stay on a buffet.
Ingredients
- 1 standard ¼-ounce envelope unflavored powdered gelatin (7 g), of specified setting strength
- 3 tablespoons cold drinking water (45 ml)
- ½ cup pasteurized whole milk (120 ml), divided
- 5¼ oz plain pasteurized full-fat cream cheese (150 g), kept cold
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice (10 ml)
- 7 oz fully cooked ready-to-eat canned tuna (200 g AFTER draining), flaked small and kept cold
- ½ cup ready-to-eat canned sweetcorn AFTER draining (80 g), patted dry
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Set out
Blender suitable for cold dairy, Small saucepan, Mixing bowl and spatula, Sieve and fork, Scale and measuring jug, 4 wide shallow refrigerator-safe cups of at least 200 ml capacity each, Food thermometer, Refrigerator
Allergens
Fish (tuna), Milk. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Read tuna label, drain, flake small and keep cold. Drain and dry corn. Blend cream cheese with 60 ml milk until smoother, transfer to mixing bowl and refrigerate. Set out four clean 200 ml cups; these are spoon cups and need no oil.
- Bloom gelatin over 45 ml cold water in small saucepan 5–10 minutes. Add remaining 60 ml milk and warm gently while stirring until dissolved, about 120–140°F (50–60°C), then remove before boiling.
- Whisk 3 tablespoons cold cream-cheese mixture gradually into warm gelatin. When smooth and lukewarm, whisk back into remaining cold base with lemon and pepper. Refrigerate 15–20 minutes until cool and just beginning to thicken. Fold in cold tuna and dry corn.
- Spoon evenly among cups, about 145–150 ml each, leaving at least ½ inch (1.25 cm) headroom; use a separate small cup for excess. Cover and refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below at least 4 hours until softly set. Allow 6½ hours total including draining, cooling and a margin for the cups to set. Serve cold with spoons; do not unmold.
Gelatin starting strength
Use food-grade unflavored powdered gelatin with a manufacturer benchmark of 7 g for about 2 cups (500 ml) plain liquid. Weigh the stated grams: envelope sizes and powder density vary. A flavored dessert packet, collagen peptides, sheet gelatin or agar is not an equal substitute.
Cold service
This is an original retro-inspired recipe, not a recovered 1960s formula. Gelatin is animal-derived; the vegetable ingredients do not make the dish vegetarian. A reliable refrigerator and the stated earlier ingredient deadlines are essential.
Ingredient labels
Read canned fish, cream cheese, corn and gelatin labels for additional allergens and shared-equipment statements.
A useful detail
Water, milk and lemon total 175 ml. Cream cheese 150 g, tuna 200 g and corn 80 g produce roughly 600 ml mixture. Seven grams gelatin is used for a soft spoon set, not an unmolded slice. The four 200 ml cups provide space above 150 ml fills.
Another way
- Use 80 g fully cooked cold well-drained peas instead of corn, following their package cooking instructions before cooling.
- Use 200 g drained fully cooked ready-to-eat canned salmon instead of tuna, removing skin and bones and naming the changed fish.
Keep it well
Keep covered at 40°F (4°C) or below and use within 24 hours of final assembly, including the overnight set, or the earliest tuna, dairy or other ingredient deadline, whichever is sooner. Keep cumulative unrefrigerated preparation and service below 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C); discard beyond those limits. Do not freeze the finished gel.