Marionberry (Blackberry) Mojito Ice Pops
These blackberry mojito ice pops are amazing! Perfect for Summer when you’re craving something cold and refreshing. Best of all, when blackberries or marion berries are at the best the popsicles explode with flavor
Blackberry Mojito Ice Pops
“Hey Boo! Boo! Check it out!” Diane makes her way down the isle as I proudly hold up my find. A frozen bag of berries. But not just any berry. Marionberries. Here in the land of amazing farmers markets and with a garden teeming with fruit trees, herbs, and other delicious things, it isn’t too often that a frozen bag of anything gets us excited. But marionberries are special and are something which is nearly impossible to find in Southern California.
Sierra helping pick mint for the mojito pops. Well, kinda helping.
They belong to the Pacific Northwest. Land of oysters, mussels, craft beer, and incredible berries. Drive through the west side of Oregon and Washington and you’ll find brambles of blackberries inundating the land. Many view them as a weed. An incredibly delicious weed, but a pain in the ass nonetheless.
You’ll even find them growing over the fence at the highway rest stops. Just make sure you pick the ones that are higher than dog leg lift height.
Amongst the masses of blackberry varieties, marionberries reign king. Described as the cabernet of blackberries, they have a deep rich flavor. All the normal blackberry traits, a touch of tart balanced by their berry sweetness, but in the same way Cabernets have a deep complexity to the taste, so do marionberries.
Now that I had found them, what to do with these little gems?
I’ve been slightly ice pop fixated since making the Bi Rite Creamery Blood Orange pops, and since I have been wanting to come up with an adult popsicle, (with alcohol, gutter minded people!) it didn’t take long to figure out what I wanted to make with the marionberries. Especially with the mint going to town in the garden. Marionberry Mojito Ice Pops.
I figured I would make a batch or two with the berries, then move on to something else. Maybe a marionberry crumb or crisp, but after the first test batch I knew this whole bag was spoken for. The Blackberry Mojito Ice Pops were really, really, really good.
The last two weeks we’ve shared them at our food photography workshops, leaving everyone happily purple tongued. And everyone managed to eat them without staining their white shirts.
-Todd
P.S. A huge thanks to everyone who attended our recent food photography workshops at our studio over the past couple weeks. Such great people. It was an immense pleasure to share the weekend and our knowledge with wonderful people like you. And to share our ice pops with you! 😉
Blackberry Mojito Ice Pops
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340 g or about 1 1/2 cups) Blackberries , fresh or frozen and thawed
- 1/2 cup (120ml) fresh Lime Juice
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Rum
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Water
- 3/4 cup (180ml) 2:1 Simple Syrup (2 parts sugar:1 part water)
- Several hearty dashes of Bitters of your choice (we usually use orange bitters)
- 20-25 Lrg Mint Leaves
Instructions
- If using wooden ice pop sticks, soak sticks for an hour in warm water before making pops (helps keep them from floating up when inserted into molds.)
- If using frozen berries, place them in a blender, food processor, or in a bowl using an immersion blender. Allow to sit at room temperature until thawed.
- Combine all of the rest of the ingredients with the thawed blackberries. Pulse until the mint is fairly well chopped up.
- Taste for sweetness and add more simple syrup if necessary (it should be a touch too sweet as it will lose sweetness after freezing.)
- Pour ice pop base into molds and insert sticks. Freeze for about 4 hours or until completely solid.
- Unmold before serving (run warm water around mold if necessary to help it release.)
Nutrition Information per Serving
Your photography is a work of art! And I love how you include Sierra in your photos. She reminds me so much of my pup, Kea! (Disappointed I couldn’t make your workshop – looks like it was amazing, yet again! And those ice pops, oh my!)
PS…I think I have the same plates/bowls. Love the matte finish. Cost Plus? 🙂
Chris- yes, those plates/bowls are from Cost Plus! – diane
I so want to get a big kiss from Sierra. That pup is too darn cute. Oh, and these mojito pops aren’t so bad either. 😉
They were so amazing, Todd! Thank you again for sharing your knowledge with us. It’s so refreshing and I had a wonderful time! I can’t wait to apply what I learned and practice! Hope to make you guys proud one day! 🙂
Gah, I love mint. These looks lovely!
so fabulous! A great way to cheer me up today!
I agree with Sally’s comments, it was a great workshop! You are both such wonderful hosts and shared so much information, I’m still processing it all.
The food was a wonderful treat. I made the addictive Sweet Onion Dip over the weekend – it was a major hit. I actually ordered my popsicle molds before I even left CA so I’m ready to get this recipe going. Now, is there anything you can do to bring some of that delicious Southern California weather here to NY!
I wish it were 80 degrees so I could have one for breakfast. That’s totally acceptable on a hot day, right? 🙂
Totally acceptable in our book!
I love how you post photos of the whole process as well as the finished product! Love your blog 🙂
Kate {Something Fabulous}
http://thesomethingfabulous.blogspot.com
They look so delicious!
I have been wanting to make popsicles and was on Amazon and a few different sites last week trying to find the “perfect” popsicle molds…was getting more overwhelmed than anything….haha!
Where did you get yours and would you recommend them?
Hi Averie,
We used the Norpro pop molds. We like them quite a bit. We just ordered a similar mold made by Progressive just to see if it was any different, but the Norpro’s work great. First few times the molds are a little tough to get out of the frame though. But after 3-4 batches they are starting to release easier.
I did the same thing searching forever for the perfect mold, but finally just settled on simple and classic. Still fun to search for other molds though!
Thanks for the info on the molds. Tried and true products are worth their weight in gold; and thanks for the info that it takes a few uses for them to get “broken in”.
Todd and Diane – what a privilege to attend your recent workshop. We learned so much, left totally refreshed and inspired…and these blackberry pops were insanely delicious! We will be making them and thinking of you. They are addictive! Thanks not only for the inspiration, but for the love, friendship and for feeding us so well! Better order my ice pop molds now.