The highest point of summer is just a few days away. As the United States of America turns 247 years old this coming 4th of July, echoes of the glorious past still resound from the days when the forebears prevailed over redoubtable enemies. This year I would like to celebrate with a very red, white and blue dessert: 4th of July Horchata Popsicles.
Horchata has a prominent place in the Mexican Hall of Fame of Soft Beverages or Aguas Frescas. It is an iconic, widely popular and most refreshing drink country-wide. It is virtually everywhere. There are different varieties too; Almond, Coconut and, in Spain, they use Chufa (a tuberous) instead. One thing is for sure, though. Horchata is the drink that gives you the most bang for your buck, in terms both of flavor AND cooling factor.
In Mexico, the most popular version of Horchata is rice horchata. That’s what these tasty 4th of July Horchata Popsicles are made of. That and a few other ingredients that you already have in your pantry, for sure. Frankly, it is hard to believe so delicious an outcome results from a small bunch of humble and inexpensive ingredients.
A Few Suggestions
Now, here are some options that you have regarding coloring:
- You can use only food coloring for the red and blue stripes; this is a good choice if you are short on time.
- If you’d prefer to use natural alternatives, for the blue: use blended blueberries with a little added sugar. The reason I don’t use blueberries is that, when blended, they don’t really look blue, but purple! I opted for blue food coloring.
- For the red stripes: Blend strawberries with a little sugar, or to taste. You can also use raspberries instead, blended with sugar, or even watermelon. Or you can make some Hibiscus Tea, also known as Agua de Jamaica (recipe here) and just add sugar. Agua de Jamaica is another widely popular Mexican Agua Fresca.
You can’t go wrong with any of these coloring alternatives! Either way, the popsicles will be tasty.
It is important to wait between color layers, at the very least for 2 – 3 hours (wait longer if possible, ideally overnight) so that the colors do not bleed into each other.
I do suggest that you use 4″ long popsicle molds. They will be more visually appealing than if you used shorter molds. But hey, use what you have, just make sure your color stripes are proportionate to the size of the mold. They don’t have to be perfect. No need to stress!
Last, but not least, check out all the other recipes on our website for your 4th of July party! You will find something for everyone.
4th of July Horchata Popsicles
Ingredients
- 2 cups white rice rinsed and cooked in water
- 1 cup drinking water
- 1-12 fl oz can evaporated milk
- 1-14 fl oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 sticks cinnamon bark
- For the blue portion of flag:
- 1 cup blueberries
- 2 – 3 tbsp sugar
- or:
- blue food coloring
- For the red stripes:
- 1 cup hulled, rinsed and disinfected strawberries or raspberries
- 2 – 3 tbsp sugar
- or:
- 2 – 3 drops red food coloring
Instructions
- In the blender process the cooked rice, water, milks and cinnamon sticks until smooth. Pass through a strainer and discard the solids. If you are using the food coloring and not the berries for coloring, reserve 2 cup of the horchata, divided. Chill the horchata.
- For the blue part of the flag:In the clean blender process the blueberries with the sugar until smooth. Add a little horchata if the mix is too thick.Otherwise, if you are using the food coloring, color 1 cup of horchata with 2 – 3 drops of blue food coloring. Keep chilled until you use it.
- For the red stripes:In the clean blender process the strawberries with the sugar until smooth. Add a little horchata if the mix is too thick.Otherwise, if you are using the food coloring, color 1 cup of horchata with 2 – 3 drops of red food coloring. Keep chilled until you use it.
- Assembly:It is very important to wait in between color layers. Start with filling up to 1/3 of each popsicle mold with the blue colored horchata or the blueberry mix. Freeze for, at the very least, 3 hours, preferably overnight.
- Next, add uncolored (white) horchata up to 2/3 of the popsicle mold; put your popsicle sticks in. Freeze for at least 3 hours or, if possible, overnight.
- Add the red colored horchata, blended strawberry/raspberry mix, or Hibiscus tea last, filling up to the brim, the upper third of the molds. Freeze again for 3 hours at least, preferably overnight.
- Unmold and enjoy!
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