Coconut - raspberry ice pops

Whenever my brother comes to visit from Leeds, it's a physical stomach preparation to keep up. Call it sibling rivalry, call it plain stupidity, I have the insane need to eat spoonful for spoonful against my brother. Because, even if his calorie intake allows it, I feel it it unjust for him to eat more than me. And boy, can he eat a lot. 

We had a wonderful dinner at one of my favourite restaurants, the 10 cases - Covent Garden bistro and brilliant wines done to the best standard, all with a wonderful, friendly and relaxed atmosphere. It takes a lot for my brother to step out of his familiar SW london setting, and he was blown away. Little friendly starters of crispy squid, grilled octopus, jamón iberico...followed by a juicy pork belly main course. All at sensible sizes in anticipation for the most immense and best chocolate mousse I've had...maybe ever. May we hope it is the only constant on the menu for the rest of time. 

 

Desserts aren't HK's strong point, however, when it comes to stealing surrounding cultures' sweet treats, they do a great job! We all know it's been crazy hot up in London and the humidity is anything but pleasant. What better way to come home to a creamy, fruity home made ice pop. Inspired by Magnum's anniversary DIY ice cream bar, this is as sophisticated ice lolly you can't wait to come home to. And it's so simple it's almost embarrassing to write this one up as a recipe. In fact, it's more of an assembly. So, have fun! 

Ingredients (makes 5/6 ice pops) 

1 can of coconut milk

2 tbs of coconut cream 

2 tbs honey 

2 generous handfuls of frozen raspberries 

2 tbs cashew nuts, lightly toasted and crushed

2 tbs desiccated coconut

1 tsp light brown sugar

Gently heat up the milk, cream and honey until mixed. Set aside and in a clean pan, gently heat up the frozen raspberries (if you have fresh, skip to just sieving into a juice) and break down to a mush. Strain the raspberries through a sieve to get rid of any seeds. 

Pour into your moulds the coconut mix until nearly full. Top up with the raspberries (a few whole ones are a great addition too) and freeze for a few hours. For the final touch, mix the crushed nuts, coconut and brown sugar together and once the ice pops are out their mould, scatter /dunk/dip the cashews however you wish. It's a posh fab I say... I can also barely call this an Asian treat, but the hot weather calls for it.