Coconut Ice Pops Recipe

This coconut ice pops recipe uses just two ingredients to create a creamy, frozen confection.

These coconut ice pops have a classical tropical flair.

Make one batch, and you’ll be stocking your freezer all year long for the taste! 

Coconut milk–the juice extracted from grated mature coconut flesh mixed with water–has a natural affinity with palm sugar, made from the sweet sap of various palm trees.

These two ingredients are all you need to make a perfect tropical ice pop.

These coconut ice pops are light in flavor and still capture the convenience of a popsicle.

They have a crisp coconut flavor that isn’t overly sweet.

It’s a refreshing snack.

You can taste the mixture before freezing and add more sugar to suit your taste. 

To add more flair, try adding coconut flakes to the mixture.

The flakes add additional flavor and texture.

How to Make Coconut Ice Pops

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Freeze Time: 4 hours (at least)
It makes about 2-1/4 cups (6-9 ice pops)

Ice Pops Ingredients:

1/2 cup Palm sugar (see tips)

3-Tablespoons water

2 cups coconut milk (see tips)

Directions: 

Prepare the Mixture: 

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt sugar in water, stirring until smooth.

Stir in coconut milk; increase heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 minute.

Set aside to cool.

Pour into Molds:

Carefully pour the liquid mixture into molds, freeze until slushy, then insert sticks and freeze until solid for at least 4 hours.

If you are using an ice pop kit, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Tips:

Palm sugar is used extensively in Asian cooking and is generally available in Asian markets.

It is usually sold in solid tablets or cakes measuring about 1/4 cup each; chop or grate the cakes into loose sugar before measuring.

“Coconut sugar,” palm sugar made from coconut sap, is sold in the granulated form at bulk and natural foods stores.

You can substitute an equal quantity of light brown (golden-yellow) sugar or raw cane sugar for the palm sugar.

Try Adding Lime:

Grate one lime and add the zest to the liquid before freezing.

You can add lime juice to the liquid to your liking and then freeze.

Add both lime juice and lime zest to the mixture before freezing.

Garnish finished product with lime zest.

Easy Directions for Freshly Toasted Coconut:

Open the coconut.

Preheat oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit

Place two coconut halves, still in the shell, directly on the center oven rack.

Bake for 20 minutes.

The coconut meat will begin to pull away from the shell.

Allow coconut to cool, and then pry the coconut meat from the shell with a butter knife.

Remove the outer, brown skin from the meat with a vegetable peeler.

Shred the coconut meat using a large grater.

Freeze any remaining coconut in an air-tight freezer container.

Excerpted from 200 best ice pop recipes by Andrew Chase © 2013 Robert Rose Inc. www.robertrose.ca May not be reprinted without publisher permission.