Paleta de Papaya y Coco (Papaya and Coconut Popsicle)
Today we are celebrating Papaya month with a cyber-amiga. Please welcome our writer and photographer today: Eliana, the talented Latina baker from A Chica Bakes.
She is sharing her childhood story about papayas. She is a humble chica with Dominican roots who shares her love of Latin-inspired desserts on her wonderful blog.
Eliana ~ Whether you live in a breezy home by the ocean or pre-war city apartment (like me), just the thought of turning on the oven in the dog days of summer makes you sweat. Thanks to frozen treats, you don’t need to crank up the heat to get your fill of sweet goodies during the summer months. I’m a huge fan of them all year-round. But something about the summer time makes them taste extra special, especially when they are made of papaya.
Growing up, I have had my fill of papaya, or lechosa as it’s called in the Dominican Republic. Admittedly, I was a little “scared” of the fruit as a child. Once it was mixed into a fruit or shake I was fine but seeing it freshly cut in its raw form scared the bejezus out of me. If you look at it, it’s kind of “fugly” on the outside and the little slimy looking black seeds on the inside sent me running. My mami thankfully got around my picky eating. Upon bringing it home from the store she immediately peeled it and cut it up into chunks that she froze to have on-hand for deliciously thick and frosty batidas de lechosa (papaya milkshakes).
These batidas are legendary but can be a little heavy for the summer. (My mami does everything grande and really piles in the fruit in her shakes.) So I was thrilled when the ladies of Muy Bueno Cookbook sent me this recipe for a lighter, more figure friendly way to get my fill of papaya that is just as delicious as my mami’s batidas.
These paletas (popsicles) have intense papaya flavor, which is accented with a bit of lime juice and coconut cream. I initially planned on tweaking the recipe to make the paletas taste more like my mami’s batidas. But this recipe is perfect. The coconut cream (not to be confused with milk) adds a touch of sweetness and the lime juice (has to be fresh) adds some brightness. Together they form what may easily become the only frozen treat you will need to get you through this caliente summer.
Buen Provecho.
Paleta de Papaya y Coco (Papaya and Coconut Popsicle)
Ingredients
- 1 small papaya, peeled, seeded, and cubed
- ¼ cup water
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- 2 ounces cream of coconut
- popsicle molds or small plastic cups
- popsicle sticks
- foil
Instructions
- Blend all the ingredients together.
- In plastic cups or popsicle molds add 5 ounces of papaya mixture.
- If using small plastic cups or popsicle molds freeze for about 2 hours or until the liquid starts to solidify. At this point, you can add a popsicle stick and it will stay upright. If you want to add popsicle sticks immediately then place a piece of foil over each cup, pierce a small slit in the foil and insert a popsicle stick. This will allow the stick to stand upright as it freezes.
- Releasing the popsicle from the cup or mold will require that you run hot water briefly on the outside of the cup or mold, about 5 seconds.
Notes
Photography by A Chica Bakes, recipe by Muy Bueno
57 Comments on “Paleta de Papaya y Coco (Papaya and Coconut Popsicle)”
I have had these in Mexico although I don’t recall a coconut flavor in them but they did have a sweetness to them that was really good. The Latin culture really knows how to “do” fruit. They work with what is plentiful in their region as we all should.
¡Buen provecho!
Wow this look delicious! I have a papaya in the fridge! Im making this really soon! 😀
yummm! The heat index here has been near or over 100 the past few days. i could use one of these tasty treats.
LOVE the looks of these gorgeous pops!! i’ve been wanting to get one of these zoku pop makers for quite some time now! 😉
xo ~ kristina
nicely done chica!
in poland we say: “mniam!”, which means “yummy!” 🙂
Oh yummmm…I want one right now, I’m going to give these a try!
I have a summer contest on at one of my blogs you and your readers might enjoy:
www.takeahappybreak.com
hope you can stop by!
Stay cool. Try anyways, G 🙂
A very cool treat and recipe, Thanks! Congrats on being FP!
Thanks Harold!
mmmm yummy! Great post!
Mucha felicidades por el Freshly Pressed. Excelente receta.
We are so honored to have been recognized by WordPress…Thank you for leaving your sweet comment.
Popsicles are so much fun to make!
i’m baking in a heatwave here… I am sooooo making these!!!
These look amazing and fun!! I love papaya and mixed with coconut cream, so delish!!
Those look great!
looks yummy! i love papayas!
Papaya month…who knew???
😉
I’m glad you did. These are beautiful…
Thank you Mikalee!
Ideal for summer…
http://calogeromirafoodand.wordpress.com
These certainly do sound like a cool refreshing treat. I look forward to trying the recipe.
Great guest post! These look so refreshingly delish!
Those look deeee-licious!!
nicely done chica! 🙂
Gracias!!
Papaya is so my favorite! Makes my cubanita heart go pitter patter even faster. (and, I would like a batido recipe too, please!)
Gracias!
Carrie, I’m with you. We too would love a batido recipe…maybe we can convince Eliana to share one with us…
I would gladly share along with the story about how my non-Latino (and small belly) husband first got introduced to my mami’s (grande) batidos.
Those popsicles look so delicious. They must taste wonderfully exotic and heavenly.
Cheers,
Rosa
Rosa May, these are truly exotic…they taste like you’re on a tropical island somewhere….let your imagination take you there. Besos…
Thanks so much for the sweet words. It’s easy to write about something that is so delicious. And that is exactly what these paletas were. A treat not to be missed.
No thank you Eliana…you ROCK! Thanks again for sharing your story…Besos…