Matcha Mint Chip Creamsicles 

Hang onto summer a little longer with this delicious Matcha Mint Chocolate Creamsicle Recipe by the incredibly talented Chef Ruth Elnekave @chef.ruthy | www.joya.ca

Prep time: 40 mins
Servings: 10 creamsicles

Ingredients:

1. Boil a full kettle of water. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath: add 2 cups of ice to a medium bowl and fill ¾ full with cold water. Set aside.
2. Place mint leaves in a sieve. Holding the sieve over a sink, pour the boiling water over the mint to wilt the leaves and then immediately place the sieve into the ice bath to shock. Promptly drain and squeeze out excess water. Add mint to an upright high speed blender.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the blender (except cacao nibs), starting with 2 tsp matcha and 2 tbsp honey, and blend on high speed until smooth (about 1 minute depending on power of blender). Taste and add more matcha and/or honey if desired (*the perceived sweetness level will be slightly lower once frozen).
4. Pour mixture into popsicle mold. If using cacao nibs, fill the molds about halfway, sprinkle in ½ tsp of nibs per creamsicle, repeat and then stir gently with a skewer or spoon to distribute nibs. Insert popsicle sticks and transfer the mold to the freezer for at least 4 hours or until frozen solid.
5. To remove from mold, run the bottom of the mold under hot water for a few seconds to loosen creamsicles.
6. To coat with chocolate shell: Prepare chocolate shell as per recipe below. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place it in the freezer. If preparing creamsicles to enjoy later, also line an airtight container (large enough to hold the creamsicles) with a piece of parchment paper and prepare another few similarly sized pieces for layering the creamsicles in the container once dipped.
7. Remove creamsicles one at a time from the mold and either dip into chocolate shell or drizzle chocolate onto the creamsicles with a spoon. Once the shell has dried (this will take a few seconds), place onto the chilled parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat for each creamsicle. Enjoy creamsicles right away or place into the prepared container, separating each layer of creamsicles with a piece of parchment, and store in the freezer.

Cashew/Macadamia Nut Milk

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (or a mix)
• 2 cups + 1 cup water (ideally filtered or spring water)
• small pinch sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine nuts and 2 cups of water in a bowl and let soak at room temperature overnight (or at least 6 hours). Drain nuts and rinse well. (*If not using immediately, keep drained nuts refrigerated.)
2. Add nuts, 1 cup water and sea salt to an upright high speed blender and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy.
3. Store milk refrigerated in a sealed container until ready to use. Milk will keep refrigerated for about 4 days.

Note: Creamsicle recipe uses the milk unstrained, together with the nut pulp. However, if making this nut milk for other purposes, milk can be optionally strained for ultimate smoothness using a nut milk bag or cheesecloth placed in a sieve over a bowl. If straining, don’t throw out your leftover pulp – it’s delicious and nutritious added to smoothies, granola or baked goods!

Magic Dark Chocolate Shell

Yield: ½ cup (recipe can be doubled, tripled etc)

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ lb (114 g) dark or bittersweet chocolate (70% or higher cacao), finely chopped
• 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
• pinch sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt chopped chocolate over a double boiler (or alternatively, in a heatproof bowl placed over a pot of simmering water), stirring frequently.
2. As soon as chocolate is melted and smooth, remove from heat, stir in a pinch of sea salt and let stand at room temperature for a few minutes until cooled but still runny before drizzling over or dipping creamsicles. Chocolate shell is also delicious poured over ice cream!
3. Make ahead: Leftover chocolate shell can be stored at room temperature for 2 weeks. Simply follow above instructions to melt