Chocolate Vanilla Pudding Swirl Pops

Well, it feels like we've finally made it to summer!  Or at least, I hope so.  I mean, ok, I know that it's almost the first official day of summer, and as happy as I am about it, I sure hope the weather decides to cooperate!  Things in NY have been pretty darn depressing lately, and it's been way too cold and way too rainy.  Sure, we've had our moments of sunshine and warm weather every now and then, but seriously?  I wore boots, long pants, and a jacket to work way too many times in the past two and a half weeks.  It was getting ridiculous.  This week looks very promising though, even though yesterday's sky was gray and rainy for most of the day.  I'm going to be crossing my fingers and hoping that this beautiful weather we're finally having will stay!  In case it doesn't, though, I have decided to disregard the weather outside in favor of simply going by the fact that it is practically summer, meaning that it's officially time to make tons of summery treats, regardless of whether or not the weather wants to actually feel like it.  First up on my list of summer treats: chocolate vanilla pudding swirl pops!

I've always loved ice pops, and they have always been one of my favorite treats to enjoy in the summer.  My mom would always make me and my sister fruit pops made with fresh fruit juice, and as much as I loved them, it was chocolate covered, vanilla ice cream pops that I really craved.  A classic Haagen Dazs ice cream bar seemed perfect in every way...until I tried the chocolate covered, dark chocolate ice cream bars.  Now THAT was my kind of ice cream snack!  Apparently, there is a salted caramel flavored Haagen Dazs bar now, and I believe I may need to buy myself a box this weekend to try it out...but I'm getting sidetracked.  The point is, I love ice cream pops, and the fact that all you have to do is grab one out of the freezer to have an instant dessert makes them the perfect way to cool off in the summertime.  

These pops aren't anything fancy, but they are really delicious.  Since they're made with simple ingredients that are more likely than not simply sitting in your kitchen right now, this is an easy summer treat to indulge in whenever you get a craving for something sweet (ok, maybe it won't provide immediate satisfaction since the pops obviously require time to chill in the freezer, but you know what I mean, right?).  The pops have a wonderfully thick texture to them, and you can really tell that they're made with a pudding base.  It should be no surprise to anyone that my favorite part of these pops was the chocolate swirl portion; it's hard not to like chocolate pudding!  I may have divided the pudding a bit unevenly, because the pops are a bit heavier on the chocolate swirl than the vanilla swirl, but since my family contains mainly chocolate lovers, my mistake ended up not being a mistake at all.  We all loved these frozen pudding pops!

Chocolate Vanilla Pudding Swirl Pops
recipe from Perfect Pops

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
2 egg yolks
5 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

wooden popsicle sticks

Directions

Begin by whisking together the milk and egg yolks in a medium sauce pan.  In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Whisk the sugar mixture into the saucepan.  Bring the ingredients to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula for about 5 minutes.  Once the mixture begins to bubble around the edges, cook it gently, stirring constantly, for one more minute.  Immediately divide the pudding evenly into two bowls.

Stir the chopped chocolate into one of the bowls until it is completely melted and smooth.  Stir the vanilla extract into the remaining bowl of pudding.  Let the puddings cool to room temperature, or for at least 15 minutes.

To assemble to pops, spoon the two flavors alternately into ice pop molds, beginning with the chocolate.  Firmly tap the ice pop molds on the counter every now and then to avoid having any air pockets in the pops.  Insert the popsicle sticks into the pops, and freeze them until firm, at least 6 hours.

To release the pops from the molds, simple run them under some hot water for a few seconds, and then gently use the sticks to pull them out of the molds.  Enjoy!

Makes 6-8 ice pops, depending on the mold used