Aug 27, 2018

Cherry Garcia Creamsicles

Yield: 10 pops

Dairy-free, Refined Sugar-free, Vegan Optional, Paleo Optional

Five vegan cherry carcia creamsicles lie on a bed of ice drizzled with paleo chocolate and surrounded by black cherries.

Fun fact: “drupe” is another word for stone fruit, like cherries. While we’re not about to question the botany designation world, we’ll argue (and promise) that you certainly won’t be drooping after one of these creamsicles! These creamy and subtly sweet pops will be the cherry on top of your day — especially when drizzled with a magic chocolate shell.

Ingredients

For the vanilla base 

  • 1 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 1 cup nut milk* 40 g (about 1/4 cup) macadamias or cashews (or the same amount of leftover pulp from making homemade nut milk)
  • 1/2 large banana (or 1 small)
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon pure almond extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
  • raw honey, to taste (2 tablespoons (40g) will get you mildly sweet popsicles)**
  • small pinch sea salt

For the cherry puree 

  • 40 cherries, pitted
  • ½ — 1 tablespoon Frangelico or Amaretto liqueur, to taste***

For coating 

*We prefer a rich and creamy homemade nut milk such as macadamia or cashew, but any store-bought nut milk will work in a pinch. Alternatively, use another 1 cup of coconut milk. 

**For a vegan version, substitute honey with maple syrup or other liquid sweetener. 

***For a paleo version, omit liqueur or substitute with ⅛ teaspoon almond extract.

Instructions

  1. Blend all ingredients for the vanilla base together in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a cup with a spout and set aside. 
  2. Separately, blend the ingredients for the cherry puree together in a blender.
  3. Pour the two mixtures into popsicle molds, filling molds ⅛ at a time, alternating between each mixture. Using a knife, gently swirl the mixture in each mold.
  4. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until frozen solid. Run outside of mold under a bit of hot water to loosen and remove popsicles.
  5. If using chocolate shell, prepare the chocolate before removing the popsicles from the molds and let it cool to just above room temperature before drizzling on the popsicles. Once cooled, pour over popsicles and let chocolate harden for about 30 seconds. When ready, the surface will turn from glossy to completely matte.