According to legend, when the Greek god Zeus was a baby and the sounds of his crying echoed throughout the mountains, the nymph Ida searched for raspberries to soothe him. Now that's a testament to the taste of these luscious berries!
A member of the rose family, raspberries grow on straight stalks called canes, and they come in four colors — red, amber, purple and black. Like all berries, they are quick to perish, so buy them right before you plan on using them, and look for a box with no juice stains on the bottom.
This recipe, which combines the delicate sweetness of raspberries with the creaminess of vanilla yogurt, is great for getting the best return on your basket of berries. The pops take several hours to freeze, so prepare them in the morning if you're planning on an afternoon snack.
Be sure to hand out aprons before you start stirring and whisking to shield everyone's clothing from pretty pink stains.
Ingredients
- 1 pint raspberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1-1/4 cups water
- 1/2 cup cream (heavy or light)
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 cup vanilla yogurt
- 8 (5-oz.) waxy paper cups
- 8 Popsicle sticks
Instructions
In a blender, puree 1 pint of the raspberries with the sugar and water. Then use a jelly bag or sieve to strain out the seeds (this should yield about 2 cups of pulp).
Transfer 2/3 cup of the raspberry puree into a separate container, add the cream, and whisk well to mix. Meanwhile, have your child stir the lemon juice into the rest of the raspberry puree. Now you should have two containers of raspberry sauce—one that's deep red and another that's creamy pink. Chill both sauces.
In a bowl, stir together the vanilla yogurt and the remaining raspberries (another good job for kids). Pour the mixture into the paper cups until they are about half full. Set the cups in an 8- x 8-inch pan (for ease in transferring them in and out of the freezer). Cover each cup with aluminum foil and poke a Popsicle stick straight through the center of the foil and into the mixture. Freeze until set (about 2 hours).
Remove the foil and pour a layer of the deep red puree on top of the frozen yogurt. Freeze again until solid (about 2 hours). Finally, pour a layer of the raspberry cream mixture into each cup and freeze until solid. To serve, peel the cups away from the creamsicles. Makes 8 creamsicles.
Food , Recipes
