Cherry, Lime and Coconut Swirl Popsicles
For everything there is a season, and summer is certainly the season for popsicles.
Vibrantly colored, mouth-wateringly refreshing and made with juicy summer fruits, they’re like sunshine on a stick. And, as such, they’re kind of out of place any other time of year. Sorry, but I don’t really want a cherry popsicle in winter. (Cherry ice cream, however, is a different story — especially when it’s dripping with hot fudge.)
So while rich ice cream is a year-round affair, we can’t help but wait until temps rise to break out the popsicle molds. Besides, summer makes us lazy, and no treat is easier to make than popsicles.
The quickest route to frozen fruit pop bliss is to just freeze some store-bought juice. That was pretty much the gold standard when I was growing up in the ’70s. But I think all the extra water in the juice makes it too icy and bland, so I use fresh-squeezed citrus and pureed fruit. Sweeten to taste with sugar, add some herbs or spices if you like, then freeze for the most intensely flavorful popsicles ever.
It’s fun to combine something richer and creamier, like coconut, with the tang of the frozen fruit, so you get that yin-and-yang flavor combo. You can just sweeten some coconut milk to taste and swirl it or layer it into the popsicle molds. Personally, though, I think coconut milk freezes up too hard and icy. To give it some creaminess, I blend it with heavy cream. The mixture gets slightly whipped, which has the added bonus of helping it swirl better with the fruit puree. And to keep it from tasting too one-note and heavy, I always — always — put lime in the coconut.
Cherry-Coconut Swirl Popsicles
Makes 6 popsicles
This recipe may make more or less popsicles, depending on how big or how small your popsicle molds are. If your molds don’t have built in sticks, you can cover the top of the molds with foil and insert popsicle sticks through it. The foil will help hold the sticks in place.
Cherry-Lime
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 1/2 cups pitted sweet cherries (fresh or frozen and defrosted)
3 tablespoons sugar
Coconut-Lime
1/2 cup coconut milk
4 ounces (1/2 cup) heavy cream
Zest and juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons sugar
To make the cherry-lime mixture: Remove the zest from the lime and set aside. In a blender or food processor, puree the cherries, lime juice and sugar. Strain mixture into a bowl or large glass measuring cup with a spout, then stir in the lime zest.
To make the coconut-lime mixture: In a blender or food processor, blend the coconut milk, cream, lime zest, lime juice and sugar for about 20 or 30 seconds. (Be careful not to blend for too long or the cream will get too stiff, like whipped cream).
To make the popsicles: Fill popsicle molds about half full with the coconut mixture. Drizzle the cherry mixture on top until full. The two mixtures should naturally swirl, or you can use a chopstick to briefly mix them together into rough swirls. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze until completely frozen, about 3 hours. To remove popsicles from the molds, dip each mold into hot water for a few seconds to loosen the outside of the pops, then pull them out.
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