The feast of rich foods and indulgent treats that are on offer over the festive period can result in the real need to refresh the palette and enjoy something fresh and zingy.

My solution to freshening my palette at Christmas time is simple: I make batches of refreshing sorbets and super cool ice lollies.

My recipes for homemade ice lollies are a real antidote to overindulgence in cloyingly rich food and drinks. I have found that these recipes have been happily embraced by my family and have certainly restored my taste buds.

Kiwi and Lime Fruit-refresher Lollies.

Ingredients:

10 kiwi fruits, peeled and chopped
1/4 watermelon (deseeded and cubed)
70g icing sugar
Juice of 2 limes

Method:

1. Place the watermelon, kiwi fruit, icing sugar, and lime juice in a food processor and blend to a smooth purée. Place a fine sieve over a bowl and press the mixture through. Discard the seeds and pulp and retain the sieved liquid.

2. Pour the liquid into lolly molds.

3. Freeze for 45 minutes.

4. Remove from the freezer, push a lolly stick into each mold, and freeze overnight.

If you want to make “adult lollies,” then you could try adding 50 ml of gin to this recipe. Simply add the gin to the sieved mixture and stir before pouring into molds.

Pistachio and Rose Delights.

I love the flavour of Turkish delight and also rose creams, but these ice lollies make an enlivened substitute.

Ingredients:

500ml whole milk
25g cornflour
250ml double cream
125g white granulated sugar
5 tsp rose water
50ml white chocolate liqueur (such as Bols Creme De Cacao White Cocoa Liqueur)
40g shelled pistachios, finely chopped

Method:

1. Put 3 tablespoons of the milk into a small bowl and mix in the cornflour to form a smooth paste.

2. Pour the remaining milk, the cream, white chocolate liqueur, and the sugar into a medium saucepan and heat until it reaches simmering point.

3. Now, stir in the cornflour paste and continuously stir until the mixture starts to thicken.

4. Add the rose water and allow the mixture to gently simmer for 2 minutes.

5. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Stir the pistachios into the mixture.

6. Fill the molds, insert the sticks, and freeze.

Tonic for the Palette.

This recipe is great when made into ice lollies, but also works well as ice cubes for refreshing non-alcoholic cocktails—or to pep up a simple gin and tonic. I save old chocolate-box inserts and use these to make interesting ice cube shapes. Adding a slice of cucumber to the bottom of each ice cube mold before filling it is a great decorative tip, but I also find that mint and strawberries work well in this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 whole cucumber, peeled
1/4 watermelon (deseeded and cubed)
Juice of 1 lemon
30g icing sugar
100ml tonic water

Method:

1. Place the watermelon cubes, lemon juice, cucumber, and icing sugar in a liquidizer and blitz until a smooth purée results.

2. Add the tonic water to the mixture.

3. Stir to combine the ingredients; then pour into ice lolly molds, insert the sticks, and freeze.

You can adapt and modify these recipes to use up fruit that you need to be used, and if you want to make “adult” versions of them, just add some of your favourite spirits and liqueurs. Above all, have fun and experiment with the recipes!

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Relephant:

Vegetarian Winter Warmers in a Flash. {Recipes}

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Author: Seren Charrington-Hollins
Image: Unsplash/Roberta Sorge
Editor: Yoli Ramazzina
Copy editor: Travis May
Social editor: Waylon Lewis