Onyx Popsicle Mold & Strawberry Vanilla Yogurt Pops

I have to pimp a super great product from a Canadian manufacturer and designed by a Canadian mom!

The Onyx popsicle mold rocks! I had been searching for a non-plastic popsicle mold for a while and found this one which looked very promising and (icing on the cake!) was Canadian made. I found it for a great price from podsnpeels.ca and to top it all off PeachyBuy offered a coupon for the site two days later!

I got a chance to try it out this weekend and had great, lip-smacking, mouth-cooling results.

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Strawberry Vanilla Yogurt Pops
Yield: six small to medium popsicles (perfectly fills the Onyx mold)

300g natural yogurt* or Greek yogurt
scant 1/3 cup honey
1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
1/2 - 2/3 pint fresh strawberries
1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar
*I  like using a yogurt that is purely milk/cream and bacterial cultures. The ones with thickeners (e.g. guar gum) tend to be full of water and get very icy when frozen, which results in something more like a ice milk popsicle than a creamy frozen yogurt pop.

Using a small paring knife, halve your vanilla bean lengthwise and scrap out the seeds. I find using the dull edge of the knife works well for the scraping part.

Grab your half finished container or yogurt...

My favourite yogurt!

... add the vanilla bean scrapings and a little less than a 1/3 cup of honey. Adjust according to your desired sweetness.

Mix it up and fill each mold approximately 2/3 full. Leave a little yogurt to mix with your strawberry puree. If you want really neat demarcations between the strawberry and vanilla layers, you could put the popsicles in the freezer while you prepare the strawberry mixture. However, if you want to swirl the layers together a bit then leave the molds out.

Hull and cut your strawberries into small chunks.

A plump part pint of strawberries from my CSA box.

Place them into a small saucepan with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of sugar, depending on how tart/sweet your strawberries are. (You want it to be slightly sweeter than what your tastebuds would dictate for room temperature... I find that the freezing cold always makes everything taste a little less intense). 

Cook until the mixture is bubbling and the strawberries are starting to break down. Use a handblender or potato masher to puree/mash the strawberries to a smooth or slightly chunky consistency (your choice!). 

Let cool slightly and mix together with your leftover vanilla yogurt. Pour into the molds. Swirl the two colours together with a chopstick or knife if you want and place into the freezer.

The great thing about the Onyx mold is that the spill/catcher rims have a little silicone ring to hold the popsicle sticks in exactly the height you want.

They are also super easy to unmold (just holding it in your hand or a short spell under cool running water) and...

...single serving frozen yogurt perfection! You could also easily unmold all of them, wrap them in a bit of parchment or wax paper, store them in a zip top bag in the freezer and use the mold to make more flavours.

These are great because I know exactly what went into them - good quality organic yogurt, local honey, local organic strawberries, and organic sugar. Next time I think I'm going to make neapolitan ones. I may experiment with a covert recipe as well. I'll keep you posted.