Soaked cashews blended with coconut milk, cocoa, and fresh mint syrup make fudgesicle-like vegan chocolate popsicles that taste like sticking your nose in a bunch of freshly picked mint leaves.
IT'S DONE. I completed the last step of my cookbook yesterday: I packaged up the final round of proofs and shipped them straight to China, where they'll be printed into thousands of books. It's been a wild ride!
Now GIVE ME CHOCOLATE. Chocolate popsicles, to be precise.
Since I handed in my manuscript last fall, friends and family ask, "So, is your book finished?" To which my response has been a weary smile. After 8 months of round-the-clock recipe testing, shooting, editing, coordinating testers, and eating allthesweets, there was STILL so much to do: photos to shoot, edits to make, prints to proof, a jacket to finalize, headshots to take, and pages to be pored over letter by letter to make sure everything was just right. It seemed like it would never end.
But end it did. Now when I'm asked whether the book is finished, I can finally say, "YES!!!! Now please preorder a copy and make the cookbook gods happy. Thank you."
Am I ready for 271 pages of photos, words, and recipes to be printed in permanent ink and spread all over the globe? On the one hand, I'm SO excited to share 100+ brand-new recipes and photos, as well as all the fun facts I learned about alternative grains and flours with the world. There are meltingly tender scones, chewy gooey cookies, fluffy biscuits, peak-of-season fruit pies, nubby tart crusts with outrageously yummy fillings, hearty breakfast fare, and spoonable custards. There's vibrant fruit, sumptuous flours, tasty spirits, tons of chocolate, and all the butter. The gluten-free recipes will please even the staunchest of anti-anti-gluteners, and some will even make vegans happy. And there's plenty of nerding out on alternative grains and flours to help you impress/weird out your friends. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.
On the other hand, I could have continued working on this book for years. As my friend Caterina, who helped me immensely with this project, put it, "They're gonna have to pry that thing from your cold, dead hands."
Speaking of cold hands, let's talk about...
The creamiest vegan mint chocolate popsicle recipe
These chocolate popsicles were inspired by a vegan chocolate mint ice cream that Emma and I shared at Gather a couple of weeks ago. The meal included salad, pizza, the inspiration for this insanely delicious recipe from Sarah, glasses of cold rosé, and (of course!) dessert. We got one tiny scoop of ice cream in a ramekin. Though small in quantity, the flavors were anything but. Fresh mint hit like a leafy boxing glove to the jaw smoothed by mellow chocolate and something nutty lurking in the background. The dessert was a bit more icy than expected, but this just made it all the more refreshing, welcome after a rich meal and long day in the kitchen.
I began thinking of how I would recreate the recipe, because one tiny scoop was not enough at all. The extra-easy answer lay in my popsicle mold.
How to Make Chocolate Popsicles
These mint chocolate popsicles are a snap to prepare and even easier to eat. Cashews get a quick soak in boiling water and puree into a smooth base along with fresh mint syrup, coconut milk, and plenty of good cocoa powder. A drop of peppermint extract sharpens the flavor. The pops are just sweet enough, with enough iciness to refresh, and enough creamy richness to feel like a treat.
More Popsicle Recipes:
- Raspberry, Lillet + Lemon Verbena Popsicles
- Vegan Peanut Butter Fudgesicles
- Vegan Salted Caramel & Chocolate Swirl Popsicles {refined sugar-free}
- Blueberry Chèvre Cheesecake Popsicles
*Thanks for reading! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make these creamy vegan mint chocolate popsicles, I’d love to see! Tag me on Instagram @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
A million thanks to Sarah who knows that the way to my heart is through dark metal backgrounds and vintage graniteware. <3
Creamy Chocolate Mint Popsicles {vegan}
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- ¾ cup raw, unsalted cashews (100 g)
- ½ cup organic granulated cane sugar (100 g)
- 1 cup water (235 ml)
- 1 ½ - 2 cups packed fresh mint leaves, from 1 large or 2 small bunches (50 g)
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao powder (60 g)
- pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract (optional – if needed to sharpen flavors)
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk (13.5 ounce / 398 ml)
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a heatproof bowl, cover with an inch or two of boiling water, and soak 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, swirling to dissolve the sugar. Add the mint leaves, remove the pot from the heat, cover and steep 5 minutes. Strain the syrup, reserving the liquid, pressing the leaves to extract all the good stuff, and discarding the leaves.
- Drain the soaked cashews and place in a blender with a splash of the syrup. Blend the cashews until silky smooth, gradually adding enough syrup to turn the mixture and scraping down the sides of the blender occasionally, increasing the speed to high, 3-5 minutes. Add the cocoa powder, salt, peppermint extract (if using), and coconut milk, and any remaining syrup, and blend until smooth.
- Divide the mixture among your popsicle molds, leaving 1/4 - 1/2 inch at the top, and place the popsicle sticks in the molds. Freeze and unmold according to the popsicle maker instructions.
- The popsicles will keep airtight in the freezer for at least several weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
Sarah @ SnixyKitchen says
I am so so so stinkin' proud of all the blood, sweat, and tears (literally) you've put into this book! I'm just SO EXCITED TO GET IT IN MY HANDS. Also - these pops are everything. I feel like the luckiest friend ever to have had my own stash.
Alanna says
Luckiest friend ever = me! Thank you for the constant help, listening to a million rants, and putting up with my insanity over the last 1.5 years. I owe you more than just a few lousy popsicles. <3
Juliet says
Oh, these look wonderful, and I'm so excited about your book!
I do have a question though regarding the recipe - do you add all of the mint syrup? I would think you would for the sweetness, but it isn't exactly clear in your recipe. Thank you!!
Congratulations on your book! Ordering, now!
Alanna says
Aw, thanks for getting my book, that means to much to me! Please let me know how you like it. As for the pops, yes, you do add the rest of the syrup. Apologies for the recipe vagueness and thanks for catching it - I've updated the instructions to clarify! Let me know how you like the pops! Happy summer. :)
Savannah Meza says
Lovelovelove