The days are getting hotter, Christmas has been and gone and cherries are well and truly in season. Inspired by the Cherry Ripe, this recipe celebrates the humble cherry by transforming it into a delightfully delicious summer treat. These ice blocks are criminally easy to make, deceptively healthy and will put a smile on the face of all your house guests.

I must confess, the ‘choc top’ inspired dipping sauce is in fact a little cheat I picked up from Matt Preston himself. Perfect for pouring over ice cream, or in this case drenching over your ice blocks, it sets in seconds and adds a little bit of decadence to the humble ice-block.

Serves 6
Freezing time: 3-4 hours
Prep Time: 15 minutes
 

INGREDIENTS

Ice Block

2 cups cherries, pips removed

1 tbs honey

Squeeze of lemon juice

½ can coconut milk

Choc Dip

375g block of 70% chocolate, roughly chopped

80ml coconut oil

To Coat

Toasted coconut flakes or nuts
 

METHOD

Place the cherries in the blender with the coconut milk, lemon juice and 1/2 a tablespoon of honey. Blend until smooth. Taste, if it needs a little extra sweetness add the remaining honey, sblend to combine. Pour the mixture into six ice block molds.

Place the ice blocks in the freezer. Let them sit for around 30 minutes; this allows the mixture to set slightly and will help hold the pop-sticks in place. Place a stick in the center of each ice block and freeze until frozen solid, this usually takes at least 3 hours.

To make the choc dip place all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Place bowl in the microwave and heat on high for 30 seconds, remove and stir. Repeat in 30-second increments until chocolate is fully melted and incorporated into the coconut oil. If you don’t have a microwave you can do this over a bain-marie on the stove, it’ll just take a little longer.

Dip the ice blocks in the chocolate and immediately roll them in the coconut (the chocolate sets quickly). If not serving immediately, place the ice blocks back in the freezer in a plastic airtight container.

NOTES

Buttermilk or yoghurt can be used instead of coconut milk when blending the cherries. If coconut isn’t your thing, roll your ice blocks in your favourite crushed nuts or seeds.