Coconut Strawberry Popsicles

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: Hispanic, North American

Keyword: coconut, paletas, popsicles, strawberry

Prep Time: 55

Cook Time: 5

freezing time: 4

Total Time: 5

Servings: servings

Calories: 198kcal

Creamy coconut milk and sweet, juicy strawberries combine to create a refreshingly creamy popsicle to scare away those high summer temps.

Prep time includes inactive preparation of chilling and freezing the popsicles.

Add the diced strawberries and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl. Use a wide spoon or rubber spatula to toss the berries into the sugar.
Put the bowl of strawberries into the fridge and leave them to macerate in the sugar for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

Right after placing the bowl of berries into the fridge, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk in a separate 2-quart bowl or pitcher.
Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator to chill the room-temperature milk.

After macerating the berries for 30 minutes, strain 1 cup (about 200 grams) of the diced strawberries over the bowl with the rest of the berries.
Reserve the strained berries to add to the thickened berry mixture later.
Stir the kosher salt into the unstrained berries in the other bowl.
Use an immersion blender to puree the rest of the strawberries in the bowl. You can puree the berries as much or as little as you want.
Microwave the pureed mixture for 5 minutes on high to evaporate the water, stirring the berry mixture once every minute to ensure it reduces evenly.
*You can do this step on the stovetop in a pot over medium heat, but it will add 10 minutes to prep time.*
Once the mixture reduces by half and thickens significantly, stir in the strawberry extract.
Use a rubber spatula to fold in the reserved berries and allow this mixture to chill completely.
You can do a fast chill by placing the bottom half of the bowl in an ice bath. You can also chill the berry mixture in the covered bowl overnight.

Pour 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) of the cold coconut milk mixture into the popsicle mold cavities.
Freeze the mixture for 30 minutes to firm it up.
Sprinkle a generous pinch of the toasted coconut flakes over the coconut milk layer after it's partially frozen.
Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the cold strawberry mixture over the toasted coconut.
Top that layer with another pinch of toasted coconut flakes, then finish with more coconut milk.
Lay the cover over the mold and insert popsicle sticks into the slots.

Freeze the coconut strawberry popsicle mixture for at least 4 hours, overnight, if possible, to give the popsicles ample time to freeze.
To remove popsicles from their mold: dunk the molds into warm water and pull them out by the stick.
For connected molds: dip the bottom of the mold into a shallow dish of warm water. You might have to jiggle the popsicles and pull away the silicone from them to make removal easier.
After removing the coconut strawberry popsicles from the mold, wrap them in wax or parchment paper.
Place the wrapped popsicles in a gallon-size freezer storage bag to prevent freezer burn or ice crystals from forming.
Store coconut strawberry popsicles in the freezer for about 4 months ensuring they are kept at a consistent temperature of 0°F (-18°C) or lower.
To enjoy, remove the popsicle(s) from the storage bag and return the rest to the freezer as soon as possible.

Swaps and Substitutions

Replace the sweetened condensed milk with sweetened condensed soy or coconut milk to make this recipe dairy-free.
You can replace the strawberry extract with vanilla or almond extract or with lemon juice for a tangy flavor.

Tips and Techniques

You can macerate fruit for up to 24 hours. However, after 2 hours, you're not gaining anything as the strawberries have released all the liquids they can.
The colder the ingredients are when you assemble the popsicles, the less time it takes to freeze, which prevents those ice crystals from growing too large.
Avoid using strawberry emulsion or "flavor" since they don't have the alcohol content you want.
Swap the strawberries for blueberries, chopped blackberries, or raspberries.
Use strawberry preserves and skip the strawberry puree prep.

Storage Instructions

You can mix the milk mixture up to 24 hours ahead and store it in a covered container in the fridge.
The longer the popsicles are stored (past 4 months) or held at room temperature, the faster their texture and flavor can degrade.