Stone Fruit Creamsicles

For the last few weekends, stone fruit has been spilling out of farmers market stands all around these parts. Last Saturday, we came home with a bounty of nectarines, plums, and pluots. Then I remembered a Sunset Magazine article I dogeared last summer with a recipe for nectarine creamsicles. Since I'm always looking for an excuse to break out the popsicle mold, I thought I'd give it a try.

There's nothing like ripe plums and nectarines in the summertime.

From the start, it was clear I'd have to tweak the original recipe. Based on what we had, I substituted white nectarines and Santa Rosa plums for the yellow nectarines it called for. We also didn't have any rose water around, so I went without.

A little sugar and some lemon juice go into the pan with the pitted, sliced fruit.

With this recent Good Food interview with Robert Lustig ringing in my head for the past month, I halved the total amount of sugar in the original recipe. And since our youngest has a dairy allergy, I substituted an equally rich and delicious coconut cream for whipping cream.

Mmmmm... this is smelling so good.

I pureed until smooth since the kids aren't fond of  "chunkies."

Shout out to my sister Steph for this often-used IKEA milk frother.

Alternating layers of the fruit puree and the frothed coconut cream mixture, swirled around a bit.

And now we wait.

Dad tested, kid approved!

The finished creamsicles were definitely a remix of the original recipe. While they aren't as sweet as the run-of-the-mill grocery store variety, the tangy fresh fruit flavor and the smooth richness of the coconut cream made for a pretty darn delicious and refreshing summertime treat.

Stone Fruit Creamsicles

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Adapted from Sunset Magazine

Even if you don't have popsicle molds, you can still pull these off. Break out some paper cups, cover them with aluminum foil, and insert wooden chopsticks through the foil to hold them in place.

Yield: 6-7 popsicles (for 1/3 cup popsicle mold)

Ingredients

  • 1.5 pounds of fresh, ripe stone fruit (I used 2 Santa Rosa plums, 4 white nectarines)
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/3 cup of coconut cream*
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Pit and slice fruit into chunks. If you're using peaches and don't like the texture of the skin, peel first. Add to a large pan with 1/4 cup of sugar and lemon juice. Cover, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until fruit is soft.

  2. Spoon fruit and juices into a food processor or blender. Pulse until desired consistency. Taste. Add extra sugar by the tablespoon if necessary and pulse again to mix. Let cool for 10 minutes.

  3. Add vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons of sugar to coconut cream. Beat until thick.

  4. Spoon fruit puree and coconut cream mixture into popsicle molds in alternating layers. Swirl around with popsicle stick to make cool patterns.

  5. Cover, insert sticks, and place in freezer until firm. Run the base of the mold under water to remove popsicles. Enjoy!

* You can substitute whipping cream for the coconut cream