Summer is unquestionably synonymous to popsicle season. Albeit we are hurtling towards the end of this hot and humid weather, the heat does not seem to reduce in its intensity except on the cool rainy days. What we really need to accustom ourselves to this tormenting temperature is to cool ourselves internally. The best way to do this during summer is by concocting delicious popsicles — chunky mango, mango kulfi, chocolate cookie, mixed fruit pastel popsicles, which will not only cool you off, but will give you delicious bursts of refreshment. 

Although store bought popsicles is a readily available option, it does not give you the freedom to pick, choose, and play around with fun ingredient combinations. Needless to say, you are limited to only a few flavour options to choose from.

On the contrary, when it comes to making your own popsicles, the sky is the limit. You can choose your desired flavour blends, layer them as you like, and control the intensity of each flavour profile, which ultimately result in unique popsicles that leave you craving for more. Thus, in order to enjoy the last bit of summer in a delectable way, here are four popping popsicle flavours that are sure to penetrate right into your soul. And what better way is there to beat the heat during this never-ending humid season?

CHUNKY MANGO POPSICLES

The inclusion of mango chunks in this popsicle is probably the best way to devour frozen mango cubes. Every bite will give you a fruity burst of sweet mangoes accompanied with the slight tartness of yoghurt; a match made in heaven for sure. As good as they look and taste, these are also very easy and simple to make requiring minimal ingredients.

Ingredients

2 medium-sized mangoes

1 cup sour yoghurt

½ cup milk

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp mango essence (optional)

Method

To make these popsicles, first begin by preparing the mangoes. Choose sweet and soft mangoes, if possible, for this one. Slice the mangoes lengthwise from either side of the seed and get rid of the seed entirely. Remove the peel carefully so that you are left with four large mango cheeks. Cut them into small bite size chunks and leave them aside for later use.

In a blender, drop in the sour yoghurt, milk, sugar, and mango essence all at once. In this case, adding mango essence is optional as its absence will not hamper the flavour profile much. You can adjust the amount of sugar according to your desired level of sweetness. Next, give the blender a blitz until you are left with a slushy and homogenous mixture.

To prepare the chunky mango popsicles for freezing, drop the cubed mango chunks in your popsicle moulds and fill them up till the top. Do not pack them tightly but rather just loosely assemble them, leaving plenty of space around the chunks. Then, pour in the prepared yoghurt mixture to fill in all the gaps around the mango chunks.

After this, all that is left do is pop in your popsicle sticks and let them firm up in the freezer overnight before you can enjoy these delicious and fruity treats! 

MANGO KULFI POPSICLES

If you are wondering how to use up the last mangoes of the season, this popsicle is your answer. You can make these in bulk and store them in your freezer for long periods, allowing yourself to go back and enjoy the irresistible taste of sweet mangoes whenever your heart desires. This one is loaded with the appropriate spice blends and boasts a creamy and silky texture.  

Ingredients

4 cups milk

1/4th cup condensed milk

Pinch of saffron

1 tsp cardamom powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 large ripe mango

2 tbsp chopped nuts

Method

To make this luscious kulfi popsicle, start by preparing the mango and nuts. Peel away its skin and retrieve the flesh of one large ripe mango. Blitz this to attain a fine mango puree, measuring about ¾ cup. You can use a combination of nuts according to your choice — cashews, pistachios, and almonds. Remove their skin and finely chop them to get the required amount. 

 Then, to prepare the kulfi base, reserve 1 tablespoon of milk separately from the 4 cups of milk and add in a pinch of saffron into that. Let the saffron flavour infuse with the milk while you heat up the rest of the milk on medium-low heat.

Gradually bring the milk to a steady simmer and pour in the condensed milk. Stir the mixture continuously so that it does not burn or stick to the bottom. Reduce this to half its original amount. Allow it to reduce and thicken until its quantity becomes about 2 cups.

Once in that stage, it should be very thick and this is your kulfi base where you can add flavours and condiments according to your preference. Add in one by one the reserved saffron infused milk, cardamom powder, cinnamon powder, and chopped nuts. Mix this just until combined and remove it from the stove.

After that, pour in the mango puree and mix well until it becomes a uniform mixture. Let this mixture cool for about 5 minutes and then pour it equally into kulfi moulds or paper cups. Cover the moulds with a sheet of aluminium foil and pop in skewers or popsicle sticks. Let it set in the fridge overnight before it is ready to be served. 

CHOCOLATE COOKIE POPSICLES

This is yet another unique popsicle recipe, that not only tastes amazing but an equal eye candy. If you are a fan of milk and cookies, then you will love this one! Made with a combination of two basic ingredients, being milk and sandwich cream cookies, you will get a delicious icy and crumbly relish from each bite. Needless to say, it is a decadent and sinfully indulgent dessert. 

Ingredients

8-10 cream sandwich cookies

2 tbsp chocolate syrup or sauce

4 tbsp shaved dark chocolate

1 tbsp sugar

1 cup milk

Method

The preparations needed to make these popsicles are very easy, so you might want to get kids involved. Firstly, begin by preparing the chocolate. Take about 50 grams of hard dark chocolate and cut the bar ever so slightly at the edge, by just shaving through. At the end of this process, you should be left with approximately 4 tablespoons of shaved dark chocolate.

Next, take about 8-10 individual pieces of cream sandwich cookies, either in vanilla or chocolate flavour. Make sure they are hard and crunchy, as opposed to being soggy. Break them up into small chunks, measuring about a quarter of their original size so that you can easily fit them into the popsicle moulds.  

After that, in a blender, mix together the milk, sugar, chocolate syrup or sauce and dark chocolate shavings. Blend all these together to attain a thin chocolaty milk mixture. To prepare the popsicles, drop the cookie chunks into the popsicle moulds and fill them entirely, packing them as closely as you possibly can. 

Then, pour in the milk mixture up till the top to drench the cookies and fill in the empty spaces and crevices entirely. Pop the popsicle lids atop and immediately put them in the freezer to set. Now all there is left to do is wait before you can bite into these chocolaty and crumbly popsicles.

PASTEL POPSICLES

Pastel popsicles are distinctive in their attributes. These are layered with the goodness of fruits and seem deliciously appealing. It is also a great means for kids to enjoy fruits and a fun way to ensure their nutrition intake. Making these is a slightly laborious and time-consuming process, but the outcome is worth it, as there is delight to be had in every bite!

Ingredients

2 kiwis

1 orange

2 tbsp rose syrup

¾ cup milk

½ cup raspberries

250ml soda water

1 tsp sugar

Method

To make the layers of these popsicles, start by preparing the kiwi layer. Peel off the skin of 2 kiwis and blitz them in a blender to get kiwi puree. Then, pass this through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the seeds and any hard particles. The remaining mixture should have a thick consistency. Dilute this with about 3 tablespoons of soda water to retrieve that pastel colour.

To make the raspberry layer, repeat the same process. Blitz the raspberries to get raspberry puree and pass it through a fine mesh sieve. The remaining mixture should be thin and dark, so add 3 tablespoons of soda water and 1 teaspoon of sugar to make it lighter in appearance.

To prepare the rose syrup layer, simply add a couple tablespoons of rosewater to ¾ cup of water and mix well. For the orange layer, squeeze out the juice from 1 large orange to attain about ¾ cup of fresh orange juice. No preparation is needed for the milk layer.

To assemble, pour in little amounts of the prepared mixtures from the five options and leave them to set in the freezer. Once the bottom layers are set for each popsicle, pour in the second layer of your choice and repeat the process until there are three layers. You can mix and match to create your own flavour combinations! 

Food and Photo: Fariha Amber