Strawberry, Almond & Chocolate Chip Frozen Pop Balls
I was originally making these balls at room temperature but since I was struggling in not making a mess in dipping the balls in the chocolate, I decided to freeze them fast so that the balls don't slide out from the sticks. After dipping one ball in the chocolate, I looked at it and thought that maybe I can make frozen pops instead.
Without
even saying a word, my son went bonkers when I pulled them out from the
freezer. Imagine that, frozen chocolate pops filled with strawberries
& chocolate chips! It was everything he wanted literally all rolled
into one.
You can adjust all the ingredients according to your taste & to the thickness it needs to retain the round shape.
Strawberry, Almond & Chocolate Chip Frozen Pop Balls
Ingredients:
Makes abut 12 frozen pops
- 200 grams strawberries, chopped as finely as you can
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons strawberry jam
- 2 tablespoons ground almonds (I used the food processor to grind them)
- chocolate for melting
- 12 sticks
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips
Preparing the mixture:
Mix strawberries, strawberry jam, cocoa powder, ground almonds & chocolate chips in a mixing bowl. Adjust the amount of ingredients according to your taste & to the compactness of the mixture.
Making the pops:
Get a spoonful of mixture. With the use of two spoons, transfer alternately the mixture from one to the other until you form a compact round shape. Put them on a plate or pan covered with wax paper. When all the balls are done, insert the sticks. Put in the freezer. After about 10 minutes, check if the sticks are still in place. Fix them in place if they are not straight. Freeze for another 20 minutes.
Melting the chocolate:
While waiting for the pops to freeze, melt the chocolate in the microwave at the defrost position. Alternatively, you can also melt the chocolate in a bain marie but it takes longer. Set aside until balls are ready to be dipped.
Finalizing the frozen pops:
Take out the frozen pops from the freezer. Dip each one in the melted chocolate. Shake lightly & twirl around to send away the excess chocolate. You can also decorate them with candy sprinkles to make them more festive. But be sure to be very quick because the chocolate dip hardens very fast because of the freezing temperature of the balls. Serve or put them back in the freezer.