These Mocha Baileys Fudge Pops are Deliciously Adult Only

Alcoholic popsicles has been on my to-do list for like a year. I wasn't originally planning on doing a Mocha Baileys Fudge Pop - specifically, I wanted to do adult freezies. But the plastic sleeves I've had to special order from the states via Amazon.com, shelling out more than what they cost in shipping. Gah. They might actually be in my hands by fall. So I went back to the drawing board - or more specifically, my liquor cabinet - wondering what else I might make to help me survive this spate of 30+ Celsius weather without making me feel like a sticky three year-old. 

Something that has the goodness of alcohol, because it's BBQ party season.

This poor little bottle of Baileys I had was sitting all forlorn like in my liquor cabinet waiting for winter, because the only thing I ever tend to use it in is a coffee drink. And coffee drinks, of course, do not make the ideal hot summer drink. 

After I spotted the Baileys, I thought about the iced cappucinos I've been getting lately from Tim Hortons to give me the energy boost I needed around 2pm to survive summer excursions with a gaggle of friends with even bigger gaggles of kids who were all sugar-fueled on fudgsicles (of the storebought, non-alcoholic variety).

And then I started to wonder why I was waiting for winter to bring out my Baileys again. I promptly hit Walmart for some popsicle molds, mad scientist laughing all the way. I went home, brewed some coffee, and stirred up a chocolately, Mocha Baileys Fudge Pop. Because us adults should be able to enjoy treats too.

Mocha Baileys Fudge Pops

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups brewed coffee
5 tbsp 18% cream
5 tbsp Baileys
1/4 cup chocolate syrup

Directions

•  Combine all ingredients, and allow to chill in the fridge, as this will reduce the size of ice crystals. Pour into an 8 mini-popsicle mold, or eight 3oz mini paper cups.
   
•  Freeze overnight. If using paper cups, insert the dipsticks just after the mixture solidifies enough to hold the stick upright. 
   
•  Exercise care removing them from the molds, as they will be softer than most homemade popsicles. Dip the mold in hot water to loosen them before pulling.

P.S. lest you look at my recipe and say "needs WAY more Baileys than that," I should point out that I had to go through a few failures (delicious, delicious failures). Why? Well, if you've ever been one of those college kids who kept a bottle of vodka in the freezer, you probably noticed that it doesn't tend to freeze much. The Kitchn suggested that to be able to freeze a popsicle, to keep to an alcohol-by-volume of 20% or less, which would be 1 shot (AKA 1.5 oz, AKA 3 tbsp) of every cup, total volume. However, practically speaking, being close to the maximum will give you difficulty with finicky moulds.

If you have a lot of trouble (particularly if your mold is old and rough on the inside), you may want to cut back to 1/4 cup of Baileys (4T) or use waxed paper cups as molds - you'll be able to tear them away. 
 

IMAGES SOURCE: COURTESY OF ANNE RADCLIFFE

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