These homemade fudgsicles were very easy to make, and I thought they tasted like a delicious cross between chocolate ice cream and cheesecake. However, my kids aren’t big cheesecake fans and I couldn’t get this by them. Imagine my frustration when they wouldn’t eat a chocolate popsicle! I thought for sure I had this one nailed and they’d never know it was good for them… Waaa waaaa, they didn’t like the little bit of sour flavor (similar to cheesecake), so I was kicking myself for adding some whey. You may want to make it without.
I put them in little Tupperware popsicle makers that I found on ebay. (I’d rather not use something plastic but at least it’s cold, which makes me feel better.) UPDATE: I've since found these BPA-free food grade silicone popsicle molds here. They have great reviews for ease of clean up and popping out the popsicles.
This recipe is adapted from an article by Jen Allbritton in Wise Traditions. Read more there about the health benefits of probiotic foods!
UPDATE: read the comments below – while these are still a pretty healthy frozen treat, sounds like they may not be much of a probiotic food after being frozen…….bummer!!
Probiotic Fudgesicles
Yield 12 Fudgesicles
Make sure to check out my chocolate pudding fudgesicle recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup yogurt cheese
- 2 egg yolks (from a farmer who raises chickens on pasture – look for nice orange yolks)
- 1/2 cup cream (raw dairy is best, but for sure not ultra-pasteurized!)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 2-3 Tablespoons organic cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup whey (optional – see note above)
- Couple shakes of sea salt
Instructions
Mix together until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze several hours.
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Let me know what you think, dear readers.
Kelly says
I think freezing just slows the bacteria down-doesn’t kill it. Once it warms up in the digestive system it should be active. I too have ordered frozen yogurt/cheese cultures, so it can’t kill them…?
Rebecca K says
I store my yogurt cultures in the freezer as well, and freeze my kefir into “ice cubes” then use two ice cubes / quart to make more! It always works for me! 🙂
Alice says
I’ve found the stevia plants at Wal-Mart the last 2 years. They like full sun, and this year I will try pinching them off a bit to encourage bushiness.
Sustainable Eats says
I freeze my cheese culture on purpose so it lasts longer and it still makes cheese so I’m sticking with Katie – I don’t think it destroys the bacteria. I know you can freeze kefir grains for 6 months and they still work fine too. Some things are just too strong for death…
Sustainable Eats
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship says
I don’t know about that article that Shannon posted, but my yogurt starter has frozen (in just the wrong spot in the back of my fridge) multiple times, and it always still works for yogurt. So from personal experience…my bacteria beasties have survived the frozen tundra! When I was learning to make yogurt, the source said you could freeze your starter, too. Does that add any info to the conundrum?
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship
Kelly says
Kimber, that is very interesting! I hope someone replies here so we can hear more about it. 🙂
Julie, that’s awesome that you’ve already tested this out. Based on the article Katie posted, though, looks like it may not be something to count on consistently…darn it. But either way, they’re a pretty healthy treat, so even if we weren’t getting the FULL probiotic benefit every time, they’re still a great alternative to store bought fudgesicles!
Kimber says
Just a quick note to let you know that I found a stevia plant in the garden area at Meijer today, and it was only $2.49! For some reason, I always thought stevia was a tropical plant. There is now one sitting on my kitchen table, waiting to be planted with the rest of my herbs. Has anyone ever grown it? I’d really appreciate any tips!
Ashley Mann says
This is my third year in a row growing stevia. Last year I made stevia extract out of the leaves and vodka and have been adding it to smoothies all year! There are lots of recipes for making extract posted online, and not all of them involve vodka.
Julie says
These sound so fantastic! I love cheesecake and of course anything chocolate is welcome in my house!
As for freezing…I have played around with freezing small amounts of yogurt and trying to reculture it later. In the short term, the yogurt will generally reculture (so it must contain the majority of the original bacteria) but after a month or so, it doesn’t work reliably.
Not scientific by any means, but these experiments lead me to believe that there is limited damage from freezing to the beneficial bacteria in the short term. I think it’s fair to say that anything that tastes like chocolate and cheesecake isn’t going to stay in the freezer for a month!
Julie
Jenny @ NourishedKitchen says
I thought that freezing killed the wee beasties too. Regardless of that, it seems like a really tasty treat!
Diana says
Kelly-
Sorry- forgot to check off the email followup button!
Diana
Diana says
Hi Kelly!
Just wondering, if you are using yogurt cheese, which is yogurt strained into curds and whey, and then adding back in the whey, could you save a step and just use yogurt before you strain it? Well, tell ya what, I will try this over the weekend and let you know how it turns out. They sound very yummy! I will be using Stevia also instead of maple syrup ( T2 diabetes). Always looking for a healthy way to satisfy the ‘ole sweet tooth!
Keep up the great blog!
Diana
Katie says
Here’s somethign about probiotics in frozen yogurt: https://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-10/1098383406.Gb.r.html
Kelly says
Shannon, crappy carumba, if that’s true, I’m going to be so bummed! If you figure out where you heard that, let me know. Even Jen Allbritton didn’t mention that in her article.
Lucy: working on it!! 🙂
Living A Whole Life says
Great recipe!! I can’t wait to make these for my kids!
Karla
Living A Whole Life
Lucy says
This is off subject, but why don’t you consider (or Nourishing Ways of West Michigan) hosting a viewing of Fresh? The on-line application asks if the applicant is a blogger, so I thought of you. GR is itching to see that film!! Thanks!
Shannon says
I thought I read somewhere that freezing yogurt rendered the probiotics ineffective.
Shannon
Betsy says
Oh, these sound good! I’m not against a little cheesecake-like tang in my chocolate. 😉