BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE POPSICLES

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I scream for ice cream!!! That’s me, as soon as it get’s a wee bit warmer outside. Sun rays kissing me awake in the morning, birds chirping love songs, butterflies tickling my belly from the inside… yes, it’s that time of the year. And what does this time of the year call for? Yes, ice cream! The non-dairy, vegan and gluten free kind of ice cream of course but without sacrificing flavor. And if you know me a little bit, you know that I love to combine flavors and get creative with kitchen classics.

 

So when I have cravings for ice cream and cheesecake at the same time, I come up with blueberry cheesecake popsicles. They’re a great substitute for a slice of the real deal cheesecake with a gazillion calories – which I’m totally fine with every once in a while, but hey think about that itsy bitsy tiny bikini that’s waiting for you in your laundry drawer. So instead of using cream cheese, I used a much lighter but still flavor packed, high quality coconut yoghurt. A little vanilla and lemon zest, some natural sweetner and there you have yourself the „cheese“ part of the cheesecake pops. The crust can be either made by crumbling up some vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free cookies or like me, by making a simple „cookie“ crumble in the pan. It’s super easy, I promise! And what goes best with cheesecake? Fruit, right?! In my book, blueberries and cheesecake are a match made in heaven. Ok, I just really love blueberries but you can substitute any other fruit.

To make the pops literally look like a cheesecake, you want to start filling up the molds by adding the ingredients in the following order:

  • Blueberry squish {blueberries heated up with some sweetener until squishy}
  • „Cheesecake“ filling
  • Cookie crust

YOU NEED {makes 8 pops}

Popsicle tray with 8 molds
8 wooden popsicle sticks
3 containers {125gr each} high quality coconut yoghurt
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk {just the solid part}
1/2 tsp bourbon vanilla powder {always use the real deal}
2-3 tbsp maple syrup or light agave syrup
Zest of 1/2 lemon
100-125 gr blueberries fresh or frozen
3 tsp coconut palm sugar 
6 tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp bourbon vanilla powder 
1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil 
A pinch of salt
 
HOW TO
 
1. Start by making the cookie crumble. Add the ground almonds in a pre-heated pan and keep stiring until it gets a bit of a golden color. Add the vanilla, salt, maple syrup and coconut oil and remove from heat. Stir well and flatten out with a spoon. Let it cool while making the rest.
2. In a small pot heat the blueberries with the coconut palm sugar until they’re warm and squishy. You still want some bluebs to be whole. Let cool.
3. Add the coconut yoghurt and the rest of the ingredients to a high speed blender and mix until smooth.
4. Now it’s time to fill up these babies. Start with a scoop of the warm bluebs, then add the „cheesecake“ filling and top with some of the „cookie“ crumble. You want to push the crumble down into the filling a bit. 
5. Pop in the freezer for at least 6 hours or obver night.
 
Here’s a little trick for getting them out easily. Dip the tray into hot water for a couple seconds and the run a sharp knife around the edges. Then pull up that sleeve and show those pops who’s the boss!