Vegan Guava Cream Pie Pops

My sincerest hope is by the time you read this all our shit will be loaded into a semi trailer and out of our house. What will be left is the scrubbing of the bathtub and the wiping down of everything else. The truck will be pulling out of town tomorrow so whatever is not on there by now is getting left behind. What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever left in a move?

When Armando and I moved from Montana after grad school we left two mattresses in the back of someone’s pick-up truck and some horse hair in their cowboy boot. It’s the wild west out there man…and also we’re assholes.

It goes without saying that moving is exhausting. I wake up every morning feeling like I was a contender on America Ninja Warrior the night before but had done nothing nearly as glorious. Unless wrapping unopened soy sauce in foam and plastic wrap is similar.

I appreciate last week’s self when I remember I still have a couple of these creamy paletas in my freezer. A couple weeks back Meg from Beard + Bonnet shared her Vegan Mexican Chocolate Popsicles on the blog and her method of combining raw cashews with coconut milk was so easy and the results so creamy I had to try it with other flavors to see if it would work with something else. When Lola from Lola’s Cocina asked if I’d share a recipe for #paletaweek I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Guava is a passionate flavor. It is sour like quince but when cooked down into a thick fruit paste the sugars are deepened and become bold. Guava takes well to creamy things. That’s why the combination of guava paste and cream cheese is so popular in Latin homes. Puff pastry + cream cheese + guava = heaven. You can buy guava paste at practically any grocery store next to where they sell other Mexican products. You can absolutely find it at a Latin grocery store, or buy it online.

Let’s not let our lack of retro popsicle molds come between us and creamy frozen dream pops. Popsicle molds don’t have to be from a fancy kitchen store, nor do they have to be specifically popsicle molds at all. These cute little molds I’ve had for so long that I’ve lost the sticks that came with them so I just tightly cover the top with plastic wrap and make slits just big enough for wooden sticks to fit through. You can do the same with small paper cups, little juice glasses, or whatever you have on hand (champagne flutes, perhaps?).

Paper cups are easy to get off, just tear away the sides and there you have it. With juice glasses you will need to run them under hot water for a few seconds until they start to loosen then twist and turn them until they come loose. Stick them back in the freezer for a 15 minutes to get hard again.

A pie popsicle would not be a pie popsicle without the exterior crunch of the “crust” component. A few graham cracker crumbs are like the icing on the cake, so to speak.

Don’t forget to check out all the paleta recipes over on Lola’s Cocina. My favorites have been Tamarind and Mango Paletas with Chile from HolaSus, Paletas de Fresa con Crema (Strawberries and Cream Pops) from The Other Side of the Tortilla, and Cochata Paletas (Coffee + Horchata) from Two Plus Luna but there are over 30 more on her Paleta Week Page.

One last thing: we are moving this week so it might be radio silence from me for a little while. I will be back (from my new California kitchen!!!!) in a few weeks, so stay tuned. I hope you all have an excellent 4th of July, stay safe, have fun and keep in touch on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat (@holajalapeno). xoxo, Kate

Vegan Guava Cream Pie Pops Recipe

Recipe inspired by these popsicles from Beard and Bonnet. Cover frozen pops and keep in the freezer for up to 3 days. Guava paste is a jellied fruit much like membrillo and can be found in the ethnic aisle of most grocery stores and also online here

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 12 Popsicles 1x

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 cup (about 6 ounces) raw cashews
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 (24.7 ounce) can guava paste
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
• 9 graham crackers, crushed

Instructions

1. Combine cashews and water in a blender and blend until smooth. Add guava paste and coconut milk and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender.
2. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until solid, about 6-8 hours.
3. Remove paletas from molds by running under hot water for a few seconds. Roll in the crushed graham crackers and freeze again until hard.