Monday, January 12, 2009

Absolutely out of season: Vietnamese iced coffee pops

Here’s a break from hearty winter fare, if only for a post. I have an absolutely out-of-season recipe to share (well, that is if you are in the Northern hemisphere): Vietnamese iced coffee popsicles.

Have you had Vietnamese iced coffee? I love the strong but sweet flavor and the thickness of it. It’s dessert in a drink – and even more dessert-like in a pop.

I love the way the different layers of color look as the coffee blends with sweetened condensed milk. I worked to replicate this in the pop and am happy with the way it turned out (it took a bunch of attempts, believe it or not!). The pops pack a refreshing punch after dinner, or would be perfect served as a pick-me-up at the pool. Try them and see!

Vietnamese iced coffee pops
(makes six rocket-pop sized popsicles. Easily adjusts as necessary)

3-4+ tablespoons dark roast coffee, medium ground (see link below for additional information)
2 cups boiling water
Vietnamese coffee filter (can be easily and inexpensively found on-line at stores such as this one)
One can sweetened condensed milk (typically comes in a 14 oz can)
½ cup whole milk

Place ~3 tablespoons coffee in between filter layers. Screw top down until firmly in place. Set over a heat-proof glass. Pour boiling water into filter in batches so that you end up with approximately 2 cups coffee. If coffee weakens significantly as you go along, remove grinds and replace with fresh ones.

Add sweetened condensed milk to coffee by the teaspoonful until coffee lightens a bit and is sweet enough to your taste (take care to add enough condensed milk so that the end result is more creamy than icy). This will be the first layer. You will add more condensed milk to create a sweeter and lighter layer next.

Pour enough coffee into each pop to fill the pop ~1/3 full. Place popsicle sticks in pops and freeze for a couple of hours until firm.

Meanwhile, cover and refrigerated remaining coffee and condensed milk.

Add a few more teaspoonfuls of condensed milk to coffee until coffee reaches a noticeably lighter shade.

Fill pops to ¾ or a little less full, as desired. Freeze again until solid.

Mix several tablespoons condensed milk into whole milk until milk is thick and sweet. Top popsicles off with the mixture, leaving an inch or so of popsicle stick sticking out from the top, and freeze one last time.

Unmold pops by running under warm water for a minute or two. Enjoy before they melt!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never seen anything like this before! This is a unique idea!

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

These are great and so original Sabra! Beautifully presented as usual!

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

i enjoy ice cream and sorbet any time of the year and actually, i made a bunch of sorbets last week too. beautiful shot!

Eileen said...

Beautiful iced coffee. We have many Vietnamese restaurants here in St. Paul, but there is one in particular I go to when I crave Vietnamese coffee. It's a wonderful treat. This morning, however, it is -16˚ and only hot things sound good.

Temperance said...

what a lovely adult take on a childhood treat! This one is definitly a keeper.

Anonymous said...

OMG. A coffee dessert. When can I come by to taste?

Laura said...

Delightful! I am such a fan of Vietnamese coffee...I'm not sure I can get it together to make the popsicles, but I am definitely buying the coffee maker!

Anonymous said...

There's the tiniest Thai place near me, that sells Thai and Vietnamese Coffee.

I need to buy some.

Anyway, thanks for bringing Summer to us so early, Sabra. Weather here is...um...jive?

Anonymous said...

This sounds really refreshing. It's funny, I don't really care for hot coffee, but coffee ice cream is quite delicious and I imagine this would be equally as tasty :).

BlondeJustice said...

Oh. My. Gosh! Those look heavenly. *wipes drool from her mouth*

Anonymous said...

out of season for you maybe- but perfect for Melbourne summer!

Joyti said...

What a fantastic idea! Great photograph

Anonymous said...

Oh, perfect! I just returned from Vietnam to a sweltering Sydney, where my morning coffee has been splashed over a pile of ice and condensed milk. I must make these, for my summer morning take-away coffee!

Ashley said...

These look fantastic! I keep getting tempted to buy popsicle molds...this might have pushed me over the edge! Thanks ;)

ice tea: sugar high said...

WOW.. I Love vietnamese iced coffee, but never thought of making it like these before. What a great idea!
LOVE your blog, btw.

Anonymous said...

I also love Vietnamese coffee - especially with a bit of chicory added in. These ice pops look wonderful and I am sure they must taste really nice. What an excellent idea to make the ice pops too shades just by adding more condensed milk.

Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Rumela said...

My father is a huge fan of Vietnamese iced coffee pops and I always try to make it for him whenever we see my parents. He has yet to be fully blown away by any of the recipes i've tried. Simplicity is key, and yours looks perfect! Can't wait to try it. thank you for shearing your post.

Anonymous said...

Can I ask you where you got your rocket popsicle molds? The only ones I can find are the ones that come with a plastic handle. Also, where do you buy the popsicle sticks?

Sabra said...

Hi "Anonymous"
You can find those molds (and the sticks) on amazon. I believe these particular ones are Cuisipro, although there are other choices there too. The sticks can also be found at specialty baking stores. Thanks so much everyone else for your comments and enthusiasm!

Anonymous said...

cà phê sữa đá!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea!

Post a Comment

Thank you for submitting a comment. I love, love reading your comments - they motivate and inspire me. Typically I try to come back and respond to your comment. Forgive me if occasionally I don't. Thanks for dropping by! (p.s. please don't leave marketing messages here)