Mixed Berries Coconut Popsicles

Mixed berries coconut popsicles made from frozen berries blended with a bit of honey, and then layered with creamy homemade coconut milk

Recipes that are quick and easy to make are always welcome in my kitchen, especially in summers. When such recipes are dessert recipes, I never let go of them. Enter mixed berry coconut popsicles.

Popsicles as a dessert option are whimsical enough to impress your guests, and easy enough for you to whip them up without breaking a sweat. They are loved by kids and adults both and when made with healthy ingredients they can be perfect for breakfast too ;). These mixed berries coconut popsicles are just that- you can enjoy them as a dessert or eat them for breakfast too.

I love coconut milk. I love coconut in my savory dishes- like the pumpkin soup, khao suey from the blog but also use coconut milk generously in my desserts. Coconut milk has a hint of natural sweetness, it’s super creamy, and it goes well with most fruits, making it perfect for desserts. The chia seed pudding is a delectable dessert/breakfast made even better when using coconut milk. Today’s recipe is also a coconut milk recipe.

MAKING COCONUT MILK AT HOME VS STORE BOUGHT

Up until recently, I have mostly been using coconut milk from a can. Read: store bought coconut milk. Only because I thought it was more convenient than making it at home. But did you know you can easily make your own coconut milk at home with only two ingredients. Plus, when you make it at home, you end up with pure coconut milk without any preservatives, weird ingredients or any additional added flavors.

While quite a lot of recipes online use shredded coconut, I recommend using a fresh coconut as the flavor is more coconuty and creamy. If you have a good powerful blender, you can get creamy coconut milk by using very little water and fresh coconut. I use the Hamilton Beach JMG– and although expensive it has been worth it (disclaimer: this post is not sponsored, but if you click on the link to buy, I might make some affiliate money- its not much just enough to pay for an ingredient or two 🙂 )

HOW TO MAKE COCONUT MILK AT HOME

For me, the hardest step when making coconut milk at home is breaking the coconut. I am not a pro, and always ask Anubhav to do it. Once you have carefully broken the coconut (reserving the liquid), take a butter knife or spatula and remove the coconut meat from  the outer shell.

You can use a peeler to peel the thin brown skin from the coconut pieces but since it doesnt affect the taste or consistency of the coconut milk, I let the skin be.

Cut your coconut meat into 1-2 inch pieces and add it to your blender. Again, I recommend a good high speed blender that can easily cut through the coconut pieces. Add hot water to the blender and blend for 1-3 minutes until you end up with a smooth consistency paste. You could also use the coconut water that you extracted to make the milk.

Remove the paste from the blender and pour into a cheescloth/kitchen towel, or strainer and squeeze out the coconut milk. And there you have it creamy coconut milk.

TIPS AND TRICKS

While easy to make, there are certain things I like to keep in mind when making coconut milk at home.

I do not like adding too much water to the coconut milk, especially if using for desserts as the result is more rich and creamy. You can always dilute the milk later if required.

In case you are making coconut milk specifically for this recipe, you could add in a date or two to sweeten your milk while blending the coconut meat. Minimalist baker does that.

When making these popsicles, I prefer to let the milk sit for a few hours in the refrigerator, so that the coconut cream can separate from the rest of the milk- resulting an even more rich and creamy popsicle. You could avoid this step, but I get better results when I do so.

You can check the video I made in collaboration with Hamilton Beach for these popsicles on my instagram:

MIXED BERRIES COCONUT POPSICLES

These mixed berries popsicles with coconut milk are a rich and creamy dessert that is healthy yet serves to satisfy those sweet cravings.  Berries are reportedly some of the healthiest foods one can eat, as they are low in calories but high in fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants.

You can make these mixed berry popsicles with any berries of your choice. I have used strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries but feel free to play around with whatever you have in hand. The recipe is easily adaptable to use any seasonal fruit that you want. Depending on the fruit and how sweet it is you might need to adjust the sweetness.

In case you don’t want distinct layers, you could also blend the coconut milk with the berries. I feel it tastes better when it is all blended together, but I love the presentation of the layered look. Try both and see which do you prefer.

These mixed berries coconut popsicles can be made vegan by swapping honey for maple syrup or agave or cane sugar. You could also probably try dates or coconut sugar. If your fruit is sweet enough, you could completely eliminate adding any sweetener and make this popsicle even more guilt-free.

Hope you get to try these super simple mixed berries coconut popsicles made with homemade coconut milk and mixed berries for a refined sugar free creamy frozen treat.