Ready, Set, Weekend with Simply Beautiful Eating
Yep. It’s that time of year again. I seem to have missed the lilac and cherry blossom boat and you know what that means? No stolen flowers to use from the neighbourhood for my annual ice pop post.
Oh well, the best I could do here was run over to the local market and grab some pink roses which I promptly hung upside down in my spare bedroom to dry. You heard me right. I didn’t even get to or want to enjoy them while they were alive.
I wanted them DEAD and DRIED UP. Wanna know why?
Dead roses look really really purdy scattered over ice pops……just like this ↓
See?
I told you.
If you’re not into eating flowers just forget it but you have to promise me you will “go to town” with your toppings.
Here’s what I did with mine.
White chocolate chips, crushed pistachios, sliced almonds and oodles of melted chocolate.
Totally decadent right?
Now, here’s what happens when you bite into one of these babies. They completely and utterly fall apart all over you.
I tried taking a good chunk out of one and ended up with a nice piece of chocolate coating on my white pants. I quickly picked up the errant piece and shoved it into my face only to have another part of the pop fall onto my lap again. That’s when I thought it might be a smart idea to get a plate. Duh.
So you might be wondering what’s up with the kitchen. Well, I’m very excited to say that I now have two working sinks, a hot water spout for tea/coffee and ……..a few handles on my cabinetry. Notsobad at all. Did I also mention that my cooktop is fired up and ready for action?
I promise to show you the first recipe I made on my new baby. I have to admit, this is the hottest cooktop I have ever laid eyes on. I mean, 18,000 BTU’s of FIYAH! When I was using it the other day, I thought the exhaust fan was going to suck up my chicken thighs and I would never see them again. Not joking.
Okay, back to these ice cream pops. Are you ready for this? I made 12 of these and 6 fell apart. Not everything works out for me ya know. I have had my share of kitchen conundrums more times than you are willing to believe. I’m going to tell you what happened and this most likely will not repeat itself again.
I was waiting for the marble shine guy to swing by to polish the new countertops. He arrived early and I had taken 6 of the pops out of the freezer as I was setting up the shoot for this post. Then of course, I did what I do best…TALK.
I totally forgot that they were sitting on the counter and when I went to release them from their molds the stick slid out and the pops remained inside. Just a quick tip for any wannabe food bloggers out there. If you are going to work with ice cream, you can’t abandon it and expect it to remain intact. Ice cream is as temperamental as a two year old. I’m super lucky that I made two batches otherwise I would be posting a salad again on here today.
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE DIPPED ICE CREAM POPS
- 1 litre vanilla ice cream, softened - 12 popsicle sticks - 20 oz. 70% dark or semisweet chocolate, chopped - 2 coconut oil (you can use canola or vegetable oil too) - optional toppings - Crushed pistachios, sliced almonds, white chocolate chips, dried rose petals
1) Take softened vanilla ice cream and spoon into ice pop molds, place a popsicle stick in each mold and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight. 2) When ready to serve, make your melted chocolate by placing it into a heat proof bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil. 3) Set the bowl over but not touching simmering water in a saucepan. Stir gently until the chocolate is melted and smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is barely lukewarm, 15 to 30 minutes. 4) Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 5) Run mold under warm water to release ice cream pops. 6) You need to work quickly now. Ready? 7) Dip the ice cream pop into the chocolate until the ice cream is completely covered. Let any excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place each dipped pop onto the baking sheet. Continue dipping the remaining pops. Sprinkle with desired toppings and additional melted chocolate if there is any leftover. 8) Return the dipped bars, uncovered, into the freezer until the ice cream and coating have both hardened, at least 30 minutes.
See you next week!