Mango Coconut Ice Pops

The summer temperatures haven’t been raging this year in this part of the world. It has been a lot more forgiving that the last bitter winter. Blistering hot or not, no summer is complete without something cold. And sometimes a limeade/lemonade is just not enough. A fruity, creamy frozen dessert is all that’s needed to close our eyes and daydream of being in the midst of white sand beaches and the blue ocean. A tropical retreat right at home!

These ice pops are combined with two of the best tropical flavors – mango and coconut. It has just four ingredients….quite simple to make. I used fresh ripe mangoes and unsweetened full-fat coconut milk. Reducing the coconut milk gives it the texture and creaminess of regular condensed milk. I used maple syrup as the sweetener but it could be replaced with any other sweetener of choice yielding slightly different tasting pops. I used chopped pistachios for some crunch. But, you could skip it or use nuts of your choice. You could mix the mango pulp and reduced coconut milk together and then fill the popsicle moulds. But, making a pattern/layers is fun which is why I decided to go the latter way.

So, get some mangoes and coconut milk and make these delicious gluten free, vegan and refined-sugar- free frozen pops! We took our mango madness a little further and enjoyed the pops with cubed mangoes.

Recipe

Prep time: 45 mins
Freeze time: at-least 8 hrs
Yields: 6 ice pops each 3.3 to 4 in length

Ingredients –

– 1 cup mango pulp ~ 3 ripe mangoes
– 1n1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
– 1/3rd cup + 2 Tbsps maple syrup
– 2 or 3 tsps finely chopped pistachios (optional)

Directions –

Sweetened mango pulp:
– Choose ripe mangoes (I used Ataulfo, but any variety is fine). Take the pulp in a blender. Add 2 Tbsps of maple syrup and blend well. Adjust the maple syrup based on the sweetness of the mangoes.

Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk:
– The condensed milk concept is from the healthy blog Detoxinista, but I decided to go with maple syrup instead of honey. In a sauce pan, take a can of full-fat coconut milk. Add 1/3rd cup of maple syrup and on low-medium heat slowly reduce the coconut milk stirring with a wooden spoon every few minutes until it thickens in consistency. When the coconut milk thickly coats the spoon it is done. It should take at-least 30 to 40 mins. Let this cool down well and then use it right away or refrigerate for later use.

Assemble the pops:
– I chose stainless steel tea glasses for these pops. Layered desserts are always fun. So, pour in the mango pulp and coconut milk layer by layer freezing each layer for a couple of hours before adding the next layer. Sprinkle chopped pistachios in each layer if using.
– After freezing the last layer for around 45 mins to an hour, place the ice-cream sticks in the glasses/moulds and freeze for a couple more hours.
– To enjoy these delicious pops, simple run the moulds under warm running water for a few seconds. The pops should come right off.

Serve these pops alongside diced mango cubes or with some mango pulp drizzled over the ice pops.

Notes:
– Check for sweetness and add more maple syrup if required before assembling the ice pops.