We felt a little like Goldilocks when we tasted this recipe. Not too sweet, we thought as we licked the spoon. Hmmm, not too bitter, we thought after a little more reflection. And, we realized after we’d demolished three popsicles in a row, they’re juuuuuust right. In fact, several of us found these to taste uncannily like Fudgsicles. But unlike the chocolate fudge pops that you buy at the store, these are just cocoa, coconut milk, and honey. Although all you’ll notice is the creamy, velvety texture, and the robust not–too-sweet chocolate smack.–Renee Schettler Rossi

Chocolate fudge pops with popsicle sticks melting on a white surface.

Chocolate Fudge Pops

4.75 / 4 votes
These frozen chocolate fudge pops are homemade from cocoa, coconut milk, honey, and vanilla. That’s it. Tastes like the perfect popsicle or, if you will, fudgecicle. Perfect for kids and the kid in you. Here’s how to make them.
David Leite
CourseDessert
CuisineAmerican
Servings6 pops
Calories154 kcal
Prep Time10 minutes
Freeze time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients 

  • One (13-ounce) can regular coconut milk, shaken
  • 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons honey or sugar, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, (optional)

Instructions 

  • Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste and add more honey or sugar if you please. (If the mixture seems a touch gritty from the cocoa, blend it a little longer and let it rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes.)
  • If using popsicle molds, pour the chocolate fudge pops mixture into popsicle molds. Insert the base and freeze until set, at least 2 hours. (If making ice pops using paper cups, insert the wooden sticks after the pops are firm enough to hold the sticks upright, at least 1 hour, depending on the size of the cups. The bigger the cup, the longer it will take.)
  • Loosen the pops by running the molds under warm water. We think you can manage from here.

Notes

Chocolate Fudge Pops Pudding

If, like us, you can’t help but snitch a bit of the mixture before freezing, beware: you may just find yourself spooning up the rest of the mixture from the bowl rather than freezing it for pops. It’s that good. It even sorta doubles as pudding if you have the restraint to pour it into ramekins and refrigerate it or a thick smoothie if you can’t wait.
Relish Cookbook

Adapted From

Relish

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 popCalories: 154 kcalCarbohydrates: 10 gProtein: 2 gFat: 14 gSaturated Fat: 12 gMonounsaturated Fat: 1 gSodium: 106 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 6 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2013 Daphne Oz. Photo © 2013 Ellen Silverman. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

Can you please share the address of the author of this recipe so I can pull out my letterpress cards to write her a thank you note? These are DELECTABLE! These really are dense and fudgy and remind me of the ones we’d get from the ice cream guy when I was a kid. I’ll be making these all summer long, thank you!

I used Penzey’s cocoa, which might have “made” the popsicle, although I don’t know because I didn’t test it with anything else. I also used light coconut milk and included the salt.

These chocolate pops are a delightful treat with a deceivingly decadent taste. I expected strong coconut and honey flavors, but both are really quite subtle. I actually prefer them this way because these pops remind me of fudgsicles! I knew these pops were going to be good when I tasted the blended mixture and was tempted to eat it right then and call it pudding!

I’m glad I tasted it before freezing, though, since I noticed a little grittiness from the cocoa. That went away as soon as I mixed it a little more and let it sit out for about 15 minutes. I have larger popsicle molds, so it took about 4 hours to freeze solid, although some molds weren’t filled to the top.

I host a ton of play dates at my house, and to be able to provide these is a pure joy. When parents ask what’s in them, you can tick off the ingredients on one hand! They’re delicious (if a bit icy) and very, very chocolaty without being overly sweet. Perfect for little ones who are developing their sense of taste.

I thought I’d be able to taste the coconut milk a little more, but if I hadn’t put it in myself, I’d have never guessed. These are very chocolaty, which I love. Not too sweet and with a hint of dark chocolate flavor, even though I used regular Hershey’s cocoa. I’d make these again. The perfect little something for a hot day. I got 12 small pops.

Worried about what your children are putting in their bodies? These little treats are made from chocolate, coconut milk, and honey, and, according to my teenager, they taste better than the mystery ingredient pops sold at the local grocery. I opted for Hershey’s cocoa and full-fat coconut milk and threw all the ingredients in my mixer until thoroughly blended. Perfect for a lazy summer afternoon.

The coconut milk in this easy recipe provides a rich base that doesn’t turn icy as is the case with most popsiicle recipes I’ve tried (likely the result of using the full fat version of coconut milk). My kids loved these (evidenced by faces covered in a thick layer of melted chocolate popsicle), but I recommend a few tweaks.

First, I didn’t like the pronounced honey flavor in these since I do not think it works with the chocolate. Second, I thought the pops were not sweet enough (the cocoa lends a rather bitter flavor). As a result, I would try these again with a different liquid sugar, such as agave, and would increase the amount to 1/4 cup.

These are not your kid’s chocolate popsicles. Deep, rich, and bordering on bitter, this is not the pop to make if you like milk chocolatey, sugary sweetness. Even though the recipe uses coconut milk, there is no coconut flavor here. It was so simple to put together. I’d say my pops took closer to 3 to 4 hours to be frozen throughout.

Do you REALLY want to know about this? I mean, really really want to know? First, this recipe is good—straightforward and delicious. And who doesn’t love a good fudge ice pop? Right.

So far so good. Mix all the ingredients—what could be easier? Taste it—yes, you could drink it right out of the bowl or from a glass with some ice. It’s that good.

Next step, pour it into fancy molds. Hmm…that wasn’t too hard, now was it? Nope.

But here’s the rub—secure the tops of all those little pop forms because for me, it was downhill from there. Now, not included in this recipe is the fact that you might—just might—end up washing the floor, the front of the fridge, the counters, as well as your running shoes. I am a complete mess. But boy, is that stuff good! Just proceed with caution.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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18 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Thanks for such a simply delicious recipe! The flavor of the fudgcle will vary with your choice of honey and cocoa. Your mixture reminds me of my recipe for a simple, quick “hot fudge” sauce – simply mixing unsweetened cocoa into very warm honey to your taste. It usually comes out to about equal volumes of cocoa to honey. Depending upon the honey you choose the flavor will be lighter (Orange blossom or clover honey) or deeper (dark honeys like buckwheat). After the cocoa-honey mixture is thick enough, add a bit of vanilla or other extract or rum or a liqueur. This is wonderful on home made ice cream or on profiteroles or to add to hot milk or coffee.

    1. Rochelle, thank you. I’m glad you liked the recipe. Your recipe-hack for hot-fudge sauce sounds wonderful.

  2. I’ve just put a batch in the freezer! I’m so excited having tasted the liquid mixture. And it smells heavenly 🙂 And looking at the clock, it took all of 7 minutes to put it together… *Lets pretend me standing over the bowl smelling it doesn’t count*

    1. Hah! Caty, you fared better than I did. I, uh, sorta only ended up with a couple fudge pops by the time I got done “sampling” the liquid mixture. Just sorta devoured it by the spoonful, like pudding. Can’t believe you didn’t even get the tip of your nose smudged with chocolate fudge pop mixture!