Margarita cocktail ice pops
Perfectionism is a bittersweet character trait. On the one hand it drives a person to deliver a standard of excellence. On the other hand these self-imposed demands of perfection can slow things down and even set you up for disappointment.
When it comes to food, (and a lot of other things) I can be a bit of a perfectionist. Prime example – I was reluctant to share this recipe until I’d nailed it. The trick of not being eternally disappointed is, knowing when to compromise and also to remember the positive. So here’s my Mexican Independence Day Margarita ice pops, they’re not perfect and the pics are far from pretty but they still taste good. It was also a good excuse to have Margarita’s for Sunday breaky.
Mexican Independence Day is tomorrow (16th September) this coupled with the wonderful sunshine we’ve been enjoying in Sydney gave me what initially seemed like a great idea. Margarita ice pops in the colours of the Mexican flag.
The intention was for a layer of fresh lime zest to be the green of the flag, the pale margarita as the white and the red to come from watermelon flavoured popping candy. The popping candy also represents the inevitable fireworks or firecrackers that thousands of Mexicans will be enjoying on the 16th.
First problem was that liquid triggers popping candy, that’s okay, I could sprinkle the frozen ice pops with the feisty candy. Then the glorious weather broke on the day I want to post, for the first time in weeks it was raining. Never mind, in Britain we often eat ice-pops in the rain.
The ice pops didn’t look as good as I hoped, despite layering, the zest had sunk (not stayed suspended) to make only a thin green stripe. When I dusted the bottom of the lolly in pink rock salt, it set off the popping candy. I expected the salt to start melting the lolly, but not this fast and as the candy exploded it flew off the lolly. Which made getting the pics I wanted frustrating but funny.
However, like I said they still tasted great so here’s how you make Margarita ice pops:
Prep time: 5 minutes plus 5 hours to freeze
Makes 4 -5 ice pops
Ingredients
- Ice pop/lolly moulds
- 2 shots of tequila (about 4 tbsp.)
- 1 shot of triple sec (Cointreau)
- ½ cup of sugar syrup (1/4 cup sugar, ½ cup water) or ideally agave nectar.
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- Zest of two limes – finely chopped
- For dusting
- Watermelon or strawberry flavoured popping candy
- 1 tsp. of ground pink rock salt
Ice pops ready
Margarita cocktail adult ice pops
Method
- Zest the limes, chop finely and set aside.
- Mix the sugar syrup, tequila, Cointreau and lime juice in a shaker with ice.
- Mix the zest with half the margarita and pour even amounts into the ice pop moulds.
- Freeze for an hour.
- Remove from the moulds from the freezer and top up with the remaining margarita.
- Freeze for a 3-4 hours until solid.
- Run the moulds under hot water and gently remove from the mould. Don’t pull the stick until you’ve done this otherwise you’ll be eating margarita slushy from the mould.
- Sprinkle the bottom half (or all) of the ice pops with a mix of the salt and popping candy.
- Eat quickly.
Have you had any kitchen disasters you want to share?
The explosive ingredient
About the Author
Gareth Englishman in Sydney loves a whisky, pies and all things savoury. Digital Marketer by day, cook the rest of the time. Amateur writer, photographer & aspiring anthropologists.
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Gareth, we love the fact that you nailed it for us! 😀 And it’s a strange day in Sydney today with the weather. I could console myself with these
Thanks Lorraine, flavour is good next step is presentation oh and harnessing the popping candy.