As I promised I will be sharing my recipe for Chocolate Pudding Pops!! But first, let me tell you just a little about the last few days!!
I have been away on Holiday! It’s my first Summer in the US and we went to four different states! It was a great and wonderful experience!! It was all thanks to my husband who planned it all! We went to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Grand Canyon and Denver on our way back! The experience of seeing all these places was incredible!!
Las Vegas was definitely a unique experience!! The slot machines EVERYWHERE, the hotels and the shops, lights, sounds and smells were just overwhelming! As Mr K describes – it was sensory overload!! I loved it!!! The strip in itself was phenomenal!
I think though, Mr K was not very happy about the heat… understandably! The temperature in Las Vegas was a whopping 105° F upwards (which is 40° C)! We had our fair share of milkshakes, ice cream, and frozen alcohol slushies to keep cool! At home we have a constant supply of popsicles in the freezer to keep ourselves cool, and we would have LOVED to have that in Las Vegas!!
I have a long history with popsicles as we always made popsicles with our favourite drink when I was small! I remember making them with my cousins too, with little plastic moulds. Our favourite drink was a grape drink called Portello (have you had it? I can’t find it in the US!!) When I lived in Lismore, I grew a fondness for chocolate pudding (Made from scratch of course!), but in summer I would freeze them in my ice cube tray with toothpicks sticking out (to use a popsicle stick) as a quick treat!!! Now I make them in our popsicle moulds!! So much better than the popsicle moulds I had when I was a kid, and heaps better than the ice cube tray! haha!!
My popsicle moulds were bought on Amazon! The reason why I love them is that the plastic moulds detach from the stand so we can just un mould one at a time! The plastic sheaths are very sturdy too!
So as promised, here is my favourite chocolate pudding pop recipe!
This is a really good recipe! I have two versions… one is naughtier than the other (calorie wise). This is a calorie friendly version so you can feel good about having this on a really hot day, but not compromise on flavour and comfort for a hot day!
“Good-for-you” Chocolate Pudding Pops!
¼ cup corn starch
6 oz white sugar
½ tsp salt
2 ½ cups half and half (or 1 ½ cups milk + 1 cup cream)
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 tbsp cocoa powder
See Note 2 – on how to make this dairy free!!
Have all these ingredients ready with you. In a saucepan combine the sugar, salt, cornflour, cocoa powder.
Keep saucepan on low-medium heat and whisk frequently while the milk heats up. This is essential, as the cornflour will stick to the bottom and burn if it isn’t whisked to move the mixture.
Continue to heat mixture while whisking, over low heat until a gentle boil.
Leave the mixture to cool to room temperature. There will be a skin forming on the milk. To avoid this, cover the top with a plastic wrap or parchment paper. However, I just whisked the mix from time to time to break the skin as we will be freezing the mix in the end anyway.
Freeze overnight. Once frozen, unmould and enjoy!!!
Variations – You can make this more adult-friendly by adding some alcohol into the milk for a little chocolate nightcap! My favourite is Brandy!!!
Other additions – some instant coffee granules to the milk (about 1 tsp for two cups of milk) for a mocha pudding pop!
Note – You can make this and eat it just as pudding!!! Just refrigerate it for a few hours until chilled and enjoy it!!
Dairy-free Option – You can substitute the milk with Soymilk, Almond milk if you’re lactose intolerant. It is just as yummy if not yummier with the nutty flavour from the milk! To make it lactose free, use a dark chocolate that has no milk. Most good quality semi sweet/bitter sweet chocolate don’t have dairy in them.
Even the Sugar can be substituted to coconut sugar, brown sugar or even honey!!
This is a favourite in our house! We have to fight for the lion share of the popsicles! Plus it’s so easy to make (apart from the constant whisking) that you can easily double the recipe and keep them in the freezer for your kids and their friends… and the kid-like “Adults” in the house too!
I used to be someone who hated using dark chocolate in baking. I always used milk chocolate because it was my favourite! But I have come to love dark Chocolate and appreciate it ALOT more! For this recipe use a good quality dark chocolate for a strong chocolate flavour. Milk chocolate will have a milder chocolate taste. I only added 2 tbsp of sugar because we like the dark chocolate flavour, but you can adjust it to your liking! Make it this way first though… It is just perfect for me!
Do you have a yummy Popsicle you like to eat? Let me know by leaving a quick comment below.
And keep checking in… Follow me on Facebook or on Twitter, because this is the Popsicle Series... & there’s more to come!!
Till next time 🙂 !!
Edit – Check out my Mango Chilli Popsicle recipe here! Second in the Popsicle Series!! I guarantee it will be one of your favourites!
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