Check ingredients Add dates to a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Add cashews to another bowl and cover with boiling water and let sit for 15 minutes as well.
Make the caramel by draining the dates, reserving 1/4 cup of the soaking liquid. Add dates, soaking water, coconut milk, coffee and sea salt to a high speed blender and blend until you obtain a smooth paste.
Smear about 2 teaspoons of the date caramel onto the inner sides of your molds – this does not have to be perfect, we are just looking to make a marble pattern.
Place in the freezer for 5 minutes while you prepare the pop base.
Drain and rinse cashews. Add to the same cup of you high speed blender along with 1 tablespoon of the date paste, coffee and instant coffee (if using). Blend until smooth.
Pour in your pop molds and place back in the freezer for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, insert popsicles sticks and return to the freezer until completely set.
Once set, let sit on the counter for 5 minutes and gently pull them out of the molds. Enjoy immediately!
Earlier this week, I hosted my first ever Food Photography Workshop and one of the images that participants had to shoot was an iced coffee.
The day before the event, I brewed over two litres of coffee just to be sure I would not run out and chilled it overnight (pro tip – if you want to make iced coffee and have the time to do it in advance, chill your coffee for a few hours; this will prevent the ice to melt almost instantaneously).
The next day, after my shoot, I realized I had made waaay too much coffee leftovers – obviously! So after drinking 2 iced coffees myself, I brainstormed about what to do with the rest. Of course, I could save some for the next day since the weather was supposed to climb up! However, I had not used coffee in my culinary creations for a while so I thought: this is my moment to come up with something unique!
After brainstorming for a bit, I came up with this idea: Salted Caramel Latte Pops. I would make the caramel out of medjool dates, since they are deliciously sweet and when blended with some non dairy milk make a caramel that tastes like it is basically straight out of heaven. To it, I would add some coffee, some creamy coconut milk and a pinch of coarse sea salt to balance out the sweetness.
The base of the pop itself is a mix of cashews, coffee, some of that salted caramel paste and a touch of instant coffee powder (for the real coffee lovers out there!).
The result is a heavenly, deliciously creamy summer treat! It is truly the perfect treat to enjoy on a warm summer day when you want a cold dessert made with wholesome ingredients.
Enough said, now I will leave you to the recipe. If you end up making these pops, I’d really love it if you shared your creations on Instagram and tagged me (@muriellebanackissa).
