Home Made Icy Poles

Hey, 

The weather in Sydney has been absolutely beautiful the past weeks, and with the temperatures in the low- mid thirties I have been craving something cold and refreshing. I often find that the ice creams and icy poles available in the shops are too full of sugar and artificial colouring so I decided to make my own.
I found the recipe for the 'Triple Tropical Pops' in the Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine, and the recipe is easy to follow. The preparation of the three different layers of the icy poles take about 30 minutes altogether. However, it probably is best to make them on a day that you plan to be home for a few hours, as the three different layers have to be added to the moulds in three intervals, with approximately 1.5 hours apart. I hope the last piece of information does not put you off making your own Icy Poles, as it was so easy to add the different layers (took 1 minute), and they really are a delicious and healthy alternative to the ones you get in the shops. An extra bonus is that they look pretty and colourful when finished, and is sure to impress family and guests! 


Preparation time: 30 minutes to process the fruits, and then 4.5 hours of cooling and layering (and then 2-3 hours to freeze).  
Makes 16
Ingredients: 
330 gm (1,5 cups) caster sugar
700 gm pineapple coarsely chopped  (about 1 small pineapple)
110 ml lime juice (about 3 limes)
350 gm mango coarsely chopped (about 1 mango)
30ml of orange juice (about half a big orange)
300 gm papaya coarsely chopped (about 1/2 a large papaya)
8 lemon grass stalks cut into 10 cm lengths (alternatively use the handle that come with your moulds) 


How to Make the Icy Poles
Sugar Syrup: Stir caster sugar and 250 ml of water in a small saucepan over medium to high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring it to a boil for one minute and then leave out to cool down to room temperature.


Pineapple Mixture: Process pineapple, 30ml of lime juice (I used one lime) and one-third of the sugar syrup in a food processor until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve into a jug. Fill the moulds with 100 ml of the mixture, and put them in the freezer until they just begin to firm (approximately 1.5-2 hours; in my freezer it took 1 hour and 20 minutes). I had quite a bit of pineapple mixture left when I finished adding them to the moulds, instead of throwing it out you can save it in the fridge until you have some vacant moulds and make more icy poles of it. 


Mango Mixture: Process mango, orange juice, 30 ml of lime juice (I used one lime) and half of the remaining sugar syrup in the food processor until smooth. Leave the jug in the fridge and divide among moulds when the pineapple mixture has begun to firm, and leave in the freezer for 1.5-2 hours. 


Papaya Mixture: Process papaya, lime juice (I used 1 lime) and remaining sugar syrup in a food processor until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve to a jug. Leave the papaya mixture in the fridge until the Mango Mixture has started to freeze and you can add the last layer. Stick either lemon stalks or the handles of your moulds into each pop, and leave the Icy Poles in the freezer until completely frozen and they are ready to serve (2-3 hours).

When you are ready to serve the Triple Tropical Pops dip the moulds briefly in hot water and the covers will come off. The taste of these Icy Poles are so delicious and fruity - I hope you enjoy them as much as we have!


Linnemoren