Apricot Rice Pudding Pops

From the kitchen of Carly

Creamy rice pudding infused with lemongrass, ginger, and vanilla, studded with chewy apricots. Coconut milk makes it rich and silky. Frozen into pops, these become an elegant, naturally sweet treat that tastes like a fancy dessert but feels refreshingly clean.

Apricot Rice Pudding Pops

Creamy rice pudding infused with lemongrass and vanilla, studded with soft apricots, then frozen into pops. The lemongrass steep does the heavy lifting, perfuming the milk before the rice ever goes in. You get that pudding texture frozen solid, which means you can actually eat it without a spoon and it won't turn to soup in your hand.

Prep
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Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 1 cupwhole milk
  • 3/4 cupplus 2 tablespoons canned unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1/4 cupheavy cream
  • 1lemongrass stalk, tough outer layer removed, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbspminced peeled ginger
  • 1/2vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 3 tbspshort-grain rice
  • 1/4 cup1/4" pieces dried apricots
  • 1/4 cupsugar
  • 8ice-pop molds; 8 ice-pop sticks

Instructions

  1. Pour the milk, coconut milk, cream, lemongrass, ginger, and 1/2 cup water into a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean directly into the pan and drop the pod in too. Bring everything to a boil, then pull the pan off the heat, cover it, and leave it to steep for 15 minutes.

  2. While that infuses, put the rice in a small bowl with 1/2 cup water and let it stand for 10 minutes to soften and shed some of its starch, then drain it.

  3. Strain the coconut-milk mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean medium saucepan and add the drained rice. Bring to a boil, then drop the heat to low, cover, and let it simmer undisturbed for 30 to 35 minutes until the rice is very tender (resist any urge to stir, or the mixture will turn gluey). Set aside to cool slightly.

  4. Fold in the apricots and sugar, then distribute the mixture evenly among 8 ice-pop molds. Freeze for 30 to 45 minutes, until the pops just begin to set, then press a stick firmly into each one. Return to the freezer for about 1 hour longer, until completely firm.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Soaking the rice for 10 minutes before cooking softens it and releases starches that help the pudding set up properly when frozen, no cornstarch needed.
  • Do not stir the rice once it's simmering. Stirring breaks down the grains and releases too much starch, which makes the final pop gluey instead of creamy.
  • Insert the sticks once the mixture has begun to set (30-45 minutes), not before. If you go too early they'll shift; too late and they won't stay upright.

Variations

  • Swap the lemongrass for a 2-inch piece of fresh turmeric and a pinch of cardamom for a warmer spice profile.
  • Replace apricots with diced fresh mango or candied ginger for a sharper flavor contrast.
  • Use coconut cream (the thick part from a can of full-fat coconut milk) instead of heavy cream for a deeper coconut presence and no dairy.
  • Skip the vanilla bean and add a teaspoon of rose water to the steeped milk for a floral take.

Make ahead and storage

Keep frozen up to 2 weeks. No need to thaw before eating, though you can run the mold under warm water for a few seconds if they stick. These won't keep in the fridge, they'll melt.