Kahlua Coconut Cream Affogato Popsicles

Hi, guys! I am so excited this morning. Turns out, it is possible to be excited about something on a Monday morning. Especially when popsicles are involved!

You see, it’s popsicle week 2016! Billy from Wit and Vinegar has been doing an annual popsicle week for a few years now, and this is the first year I’ve actually had my act together enough to participate! And I’m pumped! To kick the week off right, I made boozy coffee and coconut cream popsicles. AKA, kahlua affogato in popsicle form!

What’s affogato, you ask? It’s the simplest dessert ever: it entails a few scoops of gelato or ice cream with warm coffee poured over top. The ice cream melts into the coffee and then things really get sexy. The temperature contrast is awesome. Being the coffee freak that I am, it’s a dream dessert in my world. It’s one of the easiest yet most delicious desserts on the planet. For reals.

I’m shaking things up just a touch and adding kahlua to the mix (because why the heck not) and swapping out dairy for coconut milk. Which makes these popsicles accidentally vegan (not my original intention – I just can’t get enough coconut milk in my life these days). Yay!

Another bonus: these are sweetened with agave nectar instead of tons of sugar (which also makes mixing these up a breeze: no worries about sugar not dissolving in your liquids all the way). I find kahlua to be very sweet and syrupy (aka: awesome), which decreases the amount of sweetener needed.

Like most of my recipes, however, this one is completely customizable and you can adjust everything to your tastes. It’s kind of like a real cup of coffee that way. Everyone likes it just so. To makes these your way, I recommend sampling the coconut cream and kahlua coffee layers before assembling the popsicles in your molds (these are the best molds ever, by the way. I’ve tried several and these work best for me).

These popsicles turned out even better than I was expecting. Sweet, creamy layers of coconut and coffee swirled together in an icy treat. Doesn’t that just sound fabulous?! Well, they are.

They’re the absolute perfect summer treat on a hot day, and they give a little caffeine boost to your life as well, which is always appreciated by me (a toddler will do that to ya).

I think what I love most about them is the fact that they aren’t overly or obnoxiously sweet. They’re creamy with just a touch of sweetness, which makes me feel like I can eat five. Don’t worry, I didn’t eat five at once, but I COULD. It’s like drinking a creamy and cold, lightly sweetened iced coffee in the mid afternoon for that little boost to get you through the rest of your day. Except it’s in popsicle form. Which makes life more fun.

The best part about homemade popsicles? They’re so stinking easy. Get yourself a mold and the possibilities are endless! During the summer, I make homemade popsicles about once a week. I’ve made peaches and cream popsicles and rose sangria popsicles (the latter being pretty OMG) for the blog before, but in real life, I’ve done everything from fruit and yogurt pops to icy, all-fruit pops to chocolate and peanut butter pudding pops (Dan’s favorite). And once you have kids in the mix like I do, you’ll be looking for sweet (but kinda healthy!) homemade snacks every second of your life. The struggle is real, people.

The answer? Popsicles, popsicles, popsicles. But maybe hold off on the boozy ones for the kiddos. Sage advice, huh?

[To see all the incredible Popsicle Week 2016 creations, hop on over to Billy’s round up page and check the hashtag #popsicleweek on social media. I can promise you this: you won’t be disappointed!]

Kahlua Coconut Cream Affogato Popsicles

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• Yield: 12 popsicles 1x

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Ingredients

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For the Coffee Layer:

• ½ cup freshly brewed hot coffee
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
• 4 tablespoons kahlua liqueur
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar (or more to taste)

For the Coconut Cream Layer:

• 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk (I recommend full fat)
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar (or more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)

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Instructions

For the Coffee Layer:

1. Pour the hot coffee into a bowl. Whisk in the espresso powder and Kahlua and taste. If desired, sweeten with agave or other sweetener of choice. I find Kahlua to be very sweet, so I only added a tiny bit of agave to my mixture. Whisk well to incorporate all the ingredients. Cool the mixture to room temperature.

For the Coconut Cream Layer:

1. In another bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, agave, and vanilla bean paste. Add more agave, as needed, until the mixture is sweet enough for your taste.

To Assemble:

1. Pour a little bit of the coffee layer into the bottoms of your popsicle molds. Top with a layer of the coconut cream. Continue layering the two until all the popsicle molds are filled. If desired, swirl the two layers together slightly with a popsicle stick.
2. Freeze the popsicles for an hour. Insert the popsicle sticks and then freeze for at least another 4 hours.
3. To unmold, allow the popsicles to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes and then carefully remove them from the molds. Serve immediately. Store uneaten popsicles in the molds in the freezer (or, after removing the popsicles from the molds, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and return to the freezer until completely firm, about 20-30 minutes. Transfer fully frozen popsicles to a resealable plastic bag and keep in the freezer).