All posts tagged popsicles

Vanilla Bean Frozen Custard Pops

One of Jack’s and Sammie’s favorite places to have lunch is at Culver’s. They like the fries and the chicken fingers alright, but they are really there for the free frozen custard that comes with a kid’s meal. I can’t blame them. It really is delicious. Because of all the extra egg yolks, frozen custard tastes so much more rich and flavorful than regular ice cream. Though, you know I would never turn down ice cream.

I was so excited when I found this recipe for frozen custard in a popsicle form. Brilliant! I love the addition of vanilla bean not only for flavor, but also for the visual. I mean, who doesn’t love those little black vanilla bean specks? When my husband tried them, he said they reminded him of the vanilla pudding pops we went crazy for as kids. You remember, Bill Cosby? Justin wondered how many there were because he was seriously going to eat them all. Tonight. Sorry, but the recipe only made 7 and we ate 3 before you came home from work. No worries though. I’ll make more.

Vanilla Bean Frozen Custard Pops

Yield: 10 pops (I got 7)

2 cups (16 fl oz/500ml) whole milk, divided

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 large egg plus 3 large egg yolks

3/4 cup (6oz/185g) sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

In a heavy saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups milk and the cornstarch. Bring to a boil over med-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened, ~ 7 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the last 1/2 cup of milk, the whole egg and the yolks, sugar and salt. Using a knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean halves into the bowl and then add the halves. Stirring constantly, add the egg mixture to the thickened milk mixture. Cook, whisking constantly, over med-high heat until the mixture returns to a boil. Remove from heat.

Pour the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, then cool over an ice bath.

If using conventional ice pop molds, divide the mixture among the molds. Cover and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours and up to 3 days. If using sticks, insert them into the molds when they are part frozen, about 1 hour. Then continue to freeze until solid, about 5 more hours.

Source: Ice Pops: Recipes for Fresh and Flavorful Frozen Treats

8 Comments

by Just Baked on August 1, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Pops

Tagged custard, dessert, kids, pop, popsicles, summer, vanilla, vanilla bean

Posted by Just Baked on August 1, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/vanilla-bean-custard-pops/

Root Beer Float Popsicles

As you might have guessed…yep, it’s still too hot to bake today Actually, let me clarify that. I got up early this morning to make cheesecake swirl blondies. But, they turned out more like a bland, thick cake with a cheesecake mess on top. Yuck. So, technically, it was too hot to bake again Oh, well. Sometimes failure leads you to better things. Things like root beer float popsicles. When I decided to make the cookies and cream popsicles the other day, this choice was a very close second. So, I decided to give these a try. After all, one of my family’s favorite beat the Chicago summer heat treats is a root beer float. My kids love it because it is one of the rare occasions that they get to indulge in a soda. They always mix it together immediately into a thick root beer float milkshake. Not me. I prefer to take a small scoop from the ice cream and fill the rest of the spoon with soda and then eat it, spoonful by spoonful. However you eat them, root beer floats are simply delicious.

Most recipes I see for root beer float pops are just root beer layered with vanilla ice cream. Good, but not great. How do you make them great? You make homemade vanilla custard to layer with the root beer. It is really easy and so worth the extra effort. Don’t worry about the egg yolks. Even if they do get a little bit scrambled, you can strain the custard and it will still be perfect. The only downside is that it does take some time because you have to freeze between each layer so they don’t all run together. And, though they would still taste delicious, and I know Jack and Sammie wouldn’t care, I would!

So, the next time you have a hankering for a root beer float, go on and ditch the mugs and make these fun pops instead.

Root Beer Float Popsicles

Yield: 12 to 14 pops

1 cup (8 fl oz/250mL) heavy cream

1 cup (8fl oz/250mL) whole milk

4 large egg yolks

1/3 cup (3oz/90g) sugar

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

2 cups (16 fl oz/500mL) root beer - Open at least 30 minutes before using. I used IBC

In a heavy saucepan over med-high heat, warm the cream and milk until the mixture just comes to a simmer, about 5 minutes. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt until the mixture doubles in volume, 2 minutes. Slowly pour half of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking until smooth. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not boil. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and cool completely over an ice bath. I skipped the sieve since my custard mixture looked smooth.

If using conventional ice pop molds, fill the mold 1/4 full with the vanilla custard and freeze until partially frozen, about 30 minutes. Pour in the root beer, filling the molds until they are half full, and again, freeze until partially frozen, about 30 minutes. Pour in the remaining vanilla custard, filling until the molds are 3/4 full. I had custard left. If using sticks, insert them into the molds and freeze until almost completely solid, about 1 hour. Fill the molds with the remaining root beer. Cover and freeze until solid, at least 2.5 hours or up to 3 days. (It is not recommended to use carbonated beverages in instant ice pop makers like Zokus).

Source: Ice Pops: Recipes for Fresh and Flavorful Frozen Treats

17 Comments

by Just Baked on July 11, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in ice cream, Pops

Tagged custard, dessert, float, freezer, frozen, pop, popsicles, root beer, summer

Posted by Just Baked on July 11, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/root-beer-float-popsicles/

Cookies and Cream Popsicles

Here in Chicago, we have been having 100 degree days all week and I decided that it was just way too hot to bake. I recently bought this Norpro Ice Pop Maker from Amazon and it seemed like the perfect time to use it. But, hmmm…what to make first? To figure this out, I grabbed the book Ice Pops off my bookshelf and whoa did I find lots of recipes that I want to try! But, given my love for Oreos, the cookies and cream popsicle caught my attention immediately. The creamy base is a no-cook, Philadelphia style ice cream made of milk and cream, no egg yolks. Sour cream is added for richness and provides a slight tang to balance the sweetness of the rest of the pop. Once you prepare the sweet cream, you fold in pea-sized bits of Oreo cookies to complete the mixture. Then you just pour them into your molds, Zoku or even paper cups and let them freeze. That’s it. Easy peasy, right?

I made them after the kids went to bed so I could surprise them with a fun after dinner treat the next night. Jack and Sammie absolutely loved them! They had 2 pops each and both of them were asking to have another one. No, I think two is plenty. Even the baby had one, well soft of. Alex didn’t really get it. He ate a bit and then decided it best to smear the rest all over his face, hair, and high chair tray. Oh Alex, I love you, but what a waste of a fantastic popsicle!

Cookies and Cream Popsicles

Yield: 8 to 10 pops

14 chocolate wafer cookies, about 4 oz (125g) total weight

1/4 cup (2 oz/60g) superfine sugar

1/4 cup water (2 fl oz/60mL)

1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125mL) sour cream

1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60mL) whole milk

1 cup (8 fl oz/250mL) heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Working in a small bowl, crumble the cookies to make pieces about the size of peas.

In a bowl, stir together the sugar and 1/4 cup (2fl oz/60mL) water until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the sour cream, milk, cream, and vanilla. Add the crumbled chocolate cookies and stir to mix.

If using conventional pop molds, divide the mixture across the molds. Cover and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. If using sticks, insert them into the molds when the pops are partially frozen, after about 1 hour, then freeze until solid, at least 3 more hours.

If using an instant ice pop maker (Zoku), follow the manufacturer’s directions.

Source: Ice Pops: Recipes for Fresh and Flavorful Frozen Treats

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I have been nominated by Mess Makes Food for the Addictive Blog Award. Is there a better honor? She has some yummy looking desserts on her blog to satisfy her sweet tooth. A girl after my own heart. Thank you MissMessy for your support.

The rules are as follows:

Thank the person who nominated you and link them back.
Share a little bit about why you started blogging.
Copy and paste the award onto your blog.
Nominate up to 10 other bloggers you think are addictive enough to deserve the award.

Why did I start blogging?

There are many reasons…..

1. I have a giant cookbook collection and I thought I should brush the dust off and actually use them. Along with all the crazy single use baking pans I have sitting around unused too.

2 Baking intimidates a lot of people. I have a list of things I am intimidated to bake too. But, I want to work on attacking that list, so I don’t have one anymore. What is there to fear really, but a failed recipe? That’s really not so bad. It happens to me all the time.

3. I am a mom. So, I want to make recipes that are both easy and delicious, that other moms can share with their children.

4. And, most importantly, I really want these recipes available for Jack, Sammie and Alex to share with their children one day.

My nominees for the Addictive Blog award are:

Jessica @ The Jey of Cooking

Eva @ Eva Bakes

Joelen @ What’s Cookin’ Chicago

Lynsey @ Lynsey Lou’s

Sarah @ A Taste of Home Cooking

26 Comments

by Just Baked on July 9, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Chocolate, ice cream, Pops

Tagged cookies and cream, dessert, frozen, ice pops, Pops, popsicles