While in India mangoes almost define summer, the popularity of cherries isn’t far behind. A popular summer fruit, cherry’s sweet and sour taste makes them an ideal component for all kinds of desserts. However, frozen desserts are in demand in summer and cherries are a perfect ingredient to include in them. Making your own cherry popsicles and frozen sweets at home can be a fun task. You can also choose to involve kids and other family members and get them to make these popsicles and frozen treats together.
For popsicles, sweet cherries such as Bing or Rainier work best. Sour cherries can also be used but they give you a distinctive tart taste. You’ll have to alter the sugar you add to these desserts depending on the cherries you choose to buy and their inherent sweetness. Most cherries are usually easy to work with. To make your frozen desserts pretty and even more delicious, try including fruit bits, mint, or even edible flowers to the mix. Use alternate colours and textures to make them interesting. From basic popsicles to layered sweets, here are some imaginative do-it-yourself ideas to motivate your weekend cherry-based excursions.
To make these just use sugar, water, and fresh or frozen cherries. Blend the cherries with water and a bit of sugar. Freeze the ingredients and pour it into popsicle moulds. Leave a few cherry bits in the mixture for extra texture. These simple and delicious popsicles are great for gathering and people of all ages will love them.
Gather some Greek yoghurt, honey, and pure cherry essence. Bring out the moulds, add a layer of sweetened yoghurt, and then some cherry puree. Then gently swirl this with a stick, in a way that you see a marbled pattern. The combination of sweet cherries and tart yoghurt has a wonderfully balanced taste and feels both light and decadent.
For this, you will need melted chocolate, whole cherries, and popsicle sticks. On the sticks, skew cherries, dip them into molten chocolate, and then freeze them until solid. To give it more texture, roll them in crushed nuts or coconut. A perfect mix of tart fruit and rich chocolate, these frozen cherry pops are bite-sized and extremely decadent.
This popsicle needs fresh cherries, lemon juice, sugar, and water. Pour blended cherries—along with lemon juice and sugar—into moulds. Before putting this mixture in the freezer, arrange thin lemon slices on top for garnish.
Pure cherry, coconut milk, and honey; these simple ingredients can create magic. Pour cherry puree mixed with coconut milk and a little bit of honey into moulds and then freeze this mixture. Coconut milk's smooth texture complements the sweet-tart taste of cherry brilliantly and give this dessert a tropical twist.
Apart from cherries, you will need mixed berries—blueberries and raspberries, for example—and yoghurt to make this popsicle. Make separate purees for the berries and cherries and then arrange them alternately in moulds with yoghurt. Add these in layers and then freeze so that you can see neat, well-defined stripes. These popsicles are a sensory feast since the vivid layers complement the range of tastes in every mouthful.
Use cherry juice, ice cubes, and some lime to make this. Once slushy, blend the cherry juice and ice; then, pour it into moulds. If you prefer some additional zing, toss a bit of lime juice in it before freezing. It’s like a sloshie in a portable popsicle form, perfect for a warm day.
Crush some graham crackers and get cream cheese, and cherry puree to make these. Blend cream cheese with sugar and a little milk to bake the base smooth. Layer it in moulds using cherry puree and crumbled graham crackers before freezing it. These popsicles taste like frozen cheesecake and have creamy, crunchy, and fruity components.
We know that a Mojito is already quite cold with all the crushed ice that goes into it, but Mojito Ice Pops are even more fun. All you need is soda, water, lime juice, mint leaves, and fresh cherries. Before filling the moulds, blend cherries with lime juice and soda water; then, add chopped mint leaves. Freeze and present this alcohol-free take on the popular cocktail. These popsicles are zesty, minty, refreshing, and bursting with cherry flavour.
This indulgent one is made with condensed milk; chocolate powder and cherry purée. Blend the cherry puree with cocoa powder and condensed milk for a rich, creamy mixture. Freeze in moulds and enjoy the fudgy taste and texture of this dessert. The deep chocolate flavour combined with cherries creates quite a decadent treat.