Quintessential Summer Treat: #SpicyChat Home-Made Popsicles!

Since I received my sampler pack, it will be fair to say that Fat Cat Foods hot sauces have been haunting my dreams. I have been vigorously taste testing to showcase Fat Cat hot sauces creative reach. A little dash here, a mega dash there, and voila’, I created some magic. This time I am pairing hot sauce with dessert. Chocolate and spice, what’s there not to love? Icy cold popsicles are a much-needed treat for warmer temperatures. And if one makes them yourself, you can experiment around with unique flavor combinations and colors.

Today I am traveling with my trusted #spicychat spices to create two rich, creamy, and refreshing delectable icy delights. One with definite heat, yet both embrace the true essence of spices: Chocolate Popsicle and a luscious Indian ice cream known as Kulfi.

Chocolate & Spice Popsicles

This recipe is so simple that even your children can easily make them. The heat gently creeps up making you wonder, hmm ‘what’s that secret spice’?  by then the whole bar has been devoured. Yeah, it’s that appetizing! Throw in half a cup of good quality brandy, cognac, or tequila  for your 21 and over dinner guests. I chose to make these rich pops with semi-sweet chocolate, feel free to substitute with chocolate of your preference; be it dark chocolate, bittersweet, or even white.

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 heaped teaspoon Guajillo Ghost Fat Cat Hot Sauce or more to taste
• 2 cups half-and-half, fat-free or full cream

Directions:

1. In a medium size sauce pan, bring the half and half to a simmer. Turn of the heat and add chocolate, brown sugar, cinnamon, and hot sauce to the bowl. Let steep for 1 or 2 minutes till the chocolate melts. Stir to combine the popsicle mixture.
2. Pour the mixture into ice pop molds and insert sticks. Freeze overnight until firm.
3. To unmold the chocolate pops, run hot water on the outside of the mold for a few seconds. Gently tug on the sticks till they come out clean. Serve immediately.

If you don’t have ice cream molds, you can easily freeze the pops in paper cups too. Recipe adapted from Leite’s Culinaria.

Rose & Cardamom Kulfi

Classic indian ice cream kissed with rose-water and cardamom powder, how can you resist? It screams nostalgia for me, transporting me to my childhood, enjoying this street dish while hanging out with my friends, relishing each bite in the blistering Delhi summer, without any care in the world. Oh, those were the days! If I may toot my horn, this batch came out so delicious that for once, even my daughter who isn’t much of a fan of Indian desserts, adored it.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups whole milk or 2%
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp rose essence
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• Few strands saffron
• Pistachio, crushed (optional)

Directions:

1. Make a paste with 2 tablespoon water and cornstarch.
2. Let the saffron threads steep in few drops of hot water.
3. Bring milk, cornstarch, and sugar to a boil in a heavy-set large sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is approximately 450 ml.  Let cool.
4. Add cardamom powder, rose essence, and saffron water to the milk and mix well.
5. Pour in pop molds or individual sized glass cups. Let freeze overnight to chill.
6. Serve with crushed pistachios.

Do you have a favorite flavor when summer knocks at your door? I would love to hear from you…until next time, stay cool!

Join Us Thursdays at 8 PM EDT for #SpicyChat Twitter Chat to bring some spice in your lives! We Love to share ALL recipes. Simply add the #Spicychat hashtag to your link, we will RT and also add your recipes to our Pinterest Board. For more spicy inspirations, join our #SpicyChat FB Page.

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