A Jubilant July Picnic at Coastal Maine’s Mead Meadow

Part 4: Wild Maine Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles with Magic Chocolate Coating

Photos by Michael Marquand

Recipes by Marilinda Hodgdon

Nothing speaks of summer in Maine like wild blueberries. These berry beauties combined with creamy cheesecake ice cream, crafted into popsicles dipped in dark chocolate, spell a fabulous finish to a sumptuous summer picnic supper. The Magic of the chocolate sauce is that it hardens onto the cold ice cream almost instantly. The recipe is one of the most simple and easy chocolate sauces imaginable. This tasty treat will delight at first bite.

My memorable recipe for Maine Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Popsicles makes about 12 popsicles. Use horizontal silicon molds with holes for the sticks. Make sure your sticks fit the mold openings. Most molds come with the appropriate sticks.

Choose blueberries that are small firm, plump, fragrant with a dark rich berry color and a dusty white bloom, which is their natural protection from the sun. You can also use frozen Wild Maine blueberries.

Ice Cream

Ingredients

· 2 cups of heavy whipping cream

· 1 cup of sweetened condensed canned milk

· 8 ounces of room temperature softened cream cheese

· 2 Teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients

· 2 cups fresh small blueberries, or frozen Maine blueberries

· ½ cup water

· ¼ cup sugar

· 4 teaspoons of cornstarch

· 4 teaspoons of lemon juice

· pinch of sea salt

· Crushed Graham Crackers for interior texture and flavor are optional

Directions

Making the Sauce

1. Place the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, salt and water in a medium size saucepan on low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Stir in the blueberries and raise the heat to medium.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the some of the berries have started to burst and the juices have thickened, about 5 minutes. Most of the blueberries will break down but others will still remain whole. (To make distinct outer blueberry swirls, drain some of the blueberry liquid and place it in a small squeeze bottle with a little hole in the tip. Sparingly, make thin graceful lines of blueberry sauce before and after filling the popsicle molds.)

4. Set aside and make the ice cream base, allowing the sauces to cool to room temperature.

Making the Ice Cream and Building the Popsicles

1.     Using a whisk or a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.

2.     Add the heavy whipping cream, condensed milk, and vanilla extract and beat the mixture on high speed until soft peaks form.

3.     With your squeeze bottle of strained sauce, swirl graceful lines of sauce into each mold.  Dot in a blueberry here and there.  This will ensure a beautiful berry presentation on the outside. 

4.     Using a small flatware pointy teaspoon, not a rounded measuring spoon, add a layer of the ice cream base to each of the molds.

5.     With a smaller spoon, swirl in a bit of the cooked blueberries. You can use a narrow utensil to assist in swirling.

6.    Sprinkle a layer of graham cracker crumbs about an 1/8 inch thick.

7.     Repeat steps 4 & 5 until each mold is filled.

8.     Repeat step 3 to give a finished blueberry presence to the exposed outside. 

9.     Insert the sticks into the molds. If there is any left over base and sauce, freeze it in a covered cardboard, plastic or metal container.

10.    Leaving the molds in their protective trays, freeze them for at least 6 hours. Over night is best.

11.     After un-molding the pops, place each popsicle into an individual cellophane, plastic or waxed bag, and close securely to store in the freezer until ready to serve. This prevents freezer frost.

Chocolate Magic Shell makes ~1½ cups

Ingredients

· 12 Ounces of Pure Unsweetened Cacao or Sweetened Cocoa Powder

· 8 Ounces of Virgin Coconut Oil

Directions

1. Measure the coconut oil into a 4 cup liquid measuring cup. This allows room for stirring in the cacao powder.

2. Slowly and gradually stir the cacao powder into the coconut oil until the mixture becomes homogenous and smooth.

3. Store in a 2 cup tightly covered lidded glass jar at room temperature until ready for use.

4. Upon request for a chocolate covered popsicle, uncover the popsicles one at a time and dip into the sauce.

The Magic of the chocolate sauce is that it hardens onto the cold ice cream almost instantly. This is one of the most simple and easy chocolate sauces imaginable.

Tip: Thinning the chocolate sauce with a bit more coconut oil will make a thinner shell that hardens more quickly. If the room temperature is below 70 ˚F, the chocolate sauce may harden. Simply place the jar into warm water until it becomes liquid again.

Thanks for joining me in our sumptuous summer supper alfresco at Maine's Mead Meadow. I hope you can take the time to enjoy the recipes.

A special heartfelt thanks to Angela Olsen Matthews and her husband, Peter Matthews, at Mead Meadow for their thoughtful and gracious generosity and hard work in hosting our scrumptious and serene summer picnic. You can visit Angela’s Instagram page @MeadMeadow

About Mead Meadow

We were invited to historic Mead Meadow, in picturesque Kittery Maine, to shoot our delightful summer outdoor meal. This water front paradise is a restored 140 year old farmstead, originally a 20 acre estate, was called Mead Summer House. Included: the main house, a horse and buggy carriage house, which is now a guest cottage, a boat house and the original well. The lovingly restored buildings are now nestled on 4 acres of manicured grass surrounded by wild and cultivated flowers, raspberry bush stands, shrubbery and original trees. The garden shed was torn down and its naturally weathered old New England stones have been transformed into a spacious patio surrounded by potted herbs and flourishing flowers, with a bucolic view of the rear grounds and coastal cove.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Pecan Pancakes with Maple Yogurt Goat Cheese Sauce

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Photo by Marilinda Hodgdon

My recipe for Sweet Potato Pecan Pea Flour Pancakes with a Maple Yogurt Goat Cheese Sauce is graced with just the right amount of sweetness to tickle your fancy. It has lots of fiber and nutrients from the delicious wholesome ingredients and makes an impressive presentation when topped with your favorite fruits.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup baked sweet potato, mashed without skin, about an 8 oz. potato
• 3/4 cup plain Greek style full fat yogurt
• 1 cup cashew, almond or coconut milk
• 2 large or 3 medium eggs
• 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1¼ cups yellow pea or chick pea flour
• ¼ cup white rice flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup toasted chopped pecans or walnuts, reserve half for garnishing
• Coconut, peanut or grape seed oil for pancake griddle

Maple Yogurt Goat Cheese Sauce

• ¼ cup soft young goat cheese, room temperature

• ¼ cup plain Greek style whole milk yogurt

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 2 tablespoons dark rum or cognac

• Warm water or nut milk to thin the sauce to your desired consistency if necessary.

Instructions:

For the Pancakes

1. In a large bowl whisk together all the wet ingredients until well combined.
2. In a second bowl, sift together the dry ingredients except the nuts.
3. Stir the nuts into the sifted dry ingredients.
4. Heat the pan or griddle on medium heat, lightly brushing with oil between pancakes.
5. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the bottom of the batter seems browned and firm.
6. Flip the pancakes and cook for them for another 3-4 minutes.
7. Repeat with the rest of batter.

For the Sauce

1. Whisk all the ingredients together until smooth and satiny.
2. Serve the pancakes topped with the sauce.
3. Top each dish with fruit and sprinkle with the reserved nuts.

Recipe Notes
1. Keep the finished pancakes in a 200 degree F oven while finishing the rest.
2. Thin the sauce with warm water or nut milk if desired.
3. Use fresh mixed berries in season or sliced stone fruits such as nectarines
and plums for topping the pancakes.

If you cannot get pea flour you can substitute 1 1/2 cups red fife wheat flour or all-purpose flour for the pea flour and rice flour combination.