Wholesome Party Popsicles 3 Ways
Frozen popsicles are loved by both grown-ups and kids and make the best, refreshing snack on hot summer afternoons. These are nutritious enough to have for breakfast and gorgeous enough to serve as a dessert at a dinner party or barbecue. Since they’re made the night before to allow for freezing time, it’s the kind of dessert you can just whip out on the day with a gin and tonic in hand. So effortless!
I like to arrange mine on a bed of ice with some torn mint, which pairs so well with fruit. Once you’ve made them, feel free to experiment with your favourite types of fruits and herbs. Assembling them is so much fun and it’s satisfying when you take them out of the mould and see all the beautiful colours blending into each other.
INGREDIENTS:
Byron Summer:
1 mango, cubed
4 strawberries, quartered
1 kiwi fruit, peeled, sliced and halved
2 tablespoons passionfruit pulp
1 tablespoon chopped basil
500 ml (2 cups) coconut water
Blueberry Fields:
Blueberry layer
300 g (2 cups) blueberries, fresh or thawed
2 tablespoons honey
Yoghurt layer
1/4 cup caster sugar (55 g) or plain honey (90 g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
420 g (1 1/2 cups) plain full fat yoghurt
Coconut and Watermelon:
Watermelon layer
2 1/2 cups cubed watermelon (to make 400 ml puree)
1/2 teaspoon rosewater (optional)
Coconut layer
1 x 400 ml can coconut cream
2 tablespoons honey
70 g (1/2 cup) shelled pistachios, chopped
METHOD:
Byron Summer:
Assemble your popsicles by placing a piece of mango, strawberry and kiwi fruit in the mould, and then sprinkling a little basil and passionfruit pulp in between each one. Pour in the coconut water until the liquid is about 1 cm from the top of the mould. Place the moulds in the freezer. After a couple of hours, insert sticks into the partially frozen mixture. Return to the freezer for at least another 2 hours or preferably overnight.
Blueberry Fields
Gently mix the blueberries, honey and 2 tablespoons of water in a jug and set aside.
Place 125 ml (1/2 cup) of water in a saucepan with the sugar and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until all of the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to chill in the fridge. (This syrup not only gently sweetens the yoghurt but also gives it the right consistency for pouring into the moulds.)
Use a stick blender to blend the blueberry mixture for a few seconds until it is just starting to look mushy but still has blueberry bits through it. (You don’t want to liquefy it.)
Place the vanilla and yoghurt in a bowl or jug and mix well. Slowly add the cooled syrup until you achieve a nice, smooth, pouring consistency.
Now the fun part! Assemble the popsicles by pouring in the two mixtures in alternate layers, leaving 1 cm free at the top of the mould. Try to pour the blueberry mixture so it touches the sides of the mould as this is how you get that gorgeous mottled look. For each popsicle I generally start with a layer of blueberry, then add a layer of yoghurt, then another blueberry and finish with yoghurt but you can be as creative as you like.
Place the moulds in the freezer for about 2 hours before gently inserting the stick into the partially frozen popsicle. Continue freezing for another 2 hours or overnight.
Coconut and Watermelon
Place the watermelon and rosewater (if using) in a blender and pulse to a smooth puree. Pour the mixture into 6 paper cups (or moulds) until each is about on-third full. Freeze for about 2 hours. (This layer needs to be at least partially frozen before adding the coconut layer.)
In a jug, whisk the coconut cream and honey together then pour it over the frozen watermelon layer until it’s about 1 cm from the top of the mould. After a couple of hours when it’s starting to set, sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the coconut layer, pressing them in slightly if necessary. Insert the sticks and continue to freeze for at least another 2 hours or overnight.
Notes:
To remove popsicles from their moulds, place them in a container of warm water for about 20 seconds until they loosen. This kicks off the melting process, so if you want them to stay frozen for longer when serving to guests, my tip is to take them out of their moulds a few hours before, pop them in a zip-lock bag and return them to the freezer.
The sweeteners in all of these recipes are optional, but it’s worth noting that the popsicle ingredients aren’t as sweet when they’re frozen so you can go a little sweeter than normal. If you’re using honey as your sweetener, it’s important to use a light-coloured, plain honey so that it doesn’t overpower the other flavours.