Craving a refreshing and delightful frozen treat? Look no further than these creamy strawberry paletas, a Mexican-style popsicle that’s bursting with fresh strawberry flavor and a luxuriously smooth texture. Unlike your average popsicle, paletas are made with real fruit and often feature unique flavor combinations and textures. These creamy strawberry paletas, perfectly portioned for 6 servings, are incredibly easy to make at home and offer a taste of summer in every bite.
Fresh and vibrant creamy strawberry paletas, showcasing their smooth texture and inviting color.
If you’ve previously explored water-based paletas, like the invigorating Mango & Chamoy Paletas, you’re in for a treat with this cream-based version. The beauty of this recipe lies in its versatility. While we’re focusing on strawberry, this creamy base can be adapted for almost any fruit you desire! Although water-based paletas hold a special place, there’s something undeniably comforting about the blend of milk and strawberries in a creamy paleta.
Close-up of a creamy strawberry paleta, highlighting the texture and strawberry pieces within.
What Makes These Creamy Strawberry Paletas Special?
The secret to an exceptional paleta lies in achieving that perfect creamy, not icy, texture. This recipe utilizes a simple yet effective method to ensure your creamy strawberry paletas are smooth and melt-in-your-mouth delicious every time.
Key Ingredients for Creamy Perfection
Let’s dive into the ingredients that make these paletas so irresistible:
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Fresh Strawberries: Approximately 1 pound of fresh strawberries is needed to create around 2 cups of puree, the heart of our strawberry flavor.
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Creamy Base: A harmonious blend of heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, and Mexican crema (or crème fraîche) forms the rich foundation. Sweetened condensed milk provides sweetness, but you can adjust sugar to your preference. Mexican crema lends a subtle tang, less sour than American sour cream, contributing to the overall flavor profile.
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Texture Enhancer (Cellulose Gum or Cornstarch): This is crucial for preventing icy crystals and ensuring a consistently creamy texture. We’ll explore two options:
- Cellulose Gum: A stabilizer that works wonders for frozen desserts, resulting in incredibly smooth paletas. If you have cellulose gum readily available, it’s highly recommended.
- Cornstarch: A common pantry staple that can also achieve a creamy texture. By heating the cream base with cornstarch, you activate its thickening properties, creating a custard-like consistency and preventing ice crystal formation.
Image depicting the creamy mixture for strawberry paletas before freezing, showcasing the smooth texture.
Achieving the Ideal Sweetness
The sweetness in these creamy strawberry paletas comes from both the strawberries themselves and the sweetened condensed milk. The recipe is designed to be moderately sweet, allowing the fresh strawberry flavor to shine. However, the sweetness of strawberries can vary, so taste and adjust to your liking. Remember that frozen treats tend to taste less sweet once frozen, so slightly increasing sweetness before freezing can be beneficial.
Close-up of strawberry puree being blended, emphasizing the fresh fruit used in the paletas.
Essential Equipment
Making paletas at home requires just a few key pieces of equipment:
- Popsicle Mold: Silicone molds are highly recommended for easy popsicle removal.
- Popsicle Sticks: Essential for, well, popsicles!
- Plastic Bags (for storage): To keep your paletas fresh in the freezer.
- Blender: To create a smooth strawberry puree.
- Electric Hand Mixer: To combine the creamy base ingredients.
A recommended Popsicle mold, sticks, & baggies set can be found online, offering convenience and everything you need to get started.
Image of popsicle molds filled with creamy strawberry mixture, ready for freezing.
Paletas vs. Popsicles: What’s the Difference?
While often used interchangeably, paletas and popsicles have distinct characteristics. Popsicles are typically mass-produced, often containing artificial flavors and additives. Paletas, on the other hand, are traditionally made with fresh, natural ingredients, especially fruit. This focus on fresh ingredients means paletas don’t require the preservatives and additives found in many popsicles.
Furthermore, paletas hold cultural significance as a beloved Mexican street food. While paleterias (paleta shops) are now common, the tradition of paleteros selling paletas from carts on the street remains a vibrant part of Mexican culture.
Two Main Types of Paletas
Paletas come in countless flavors and combinations, but broadly fall into two categories: water-based and cream-based. Our creamy strawberry paletas fall into the latter, offering a richer, more decadent frozen treat.
Recipe: Creamy Strawberry Paletas (Yields approximately 6 servings)
By Stella Navarro-Kim
These homemade creamy strawberry paletas are made with real fruit and deliver a perfectly smooth and creamy texture, free from iciness.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Servings: Approximately 6 paletas
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Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh strawberries
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup Mexican crema, (crème fraîche)
- 4-5 oz sweetened condensed milk (adjust to taste for sweetness)
- ⅛ teaspoon cellulose gum, or 1 teaspoon corn starch
Instructions
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Prepare Strawberries: Wash and soak strawberries in cold water for 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly under cold water.
Image showing washed strawberries in a bowl, step one of preparing the paletas. -
Chop Strawberries: Roughly chop the strawberries. Reserve some smaller chunks if you’d like to add them to the popsicle molds later for added texture.
Image of chopped strawberries on a cutting board, ready for maceration. -
Macerate Strawberries: Combine chopped strawberries with sugar and let sit for 20-30 minutes to macerate, drawing out their juices and enhancing flavor.
Image of strawberries macerating in sugar in a bowl, illustrating the flavor enhancing step. -
Puree Strawberries: Blend the macerated strawberries until completely smooth, yielding approximately 1 to 1.5 cups of puree.
Image of strawberry puree in a blender, showcasing the smooth consistency needed for paletas. -
Combine Cream Base: In a bowl, use an electric mixer to combine heavy whipping cream, crema, sweetened condensed milk, salt, and cellulose gum. Mix for about a minute until slightly thickened. For cornstarch alternative: In a saucepan, combine heavy cream, crema, salt, and sweetened condensed milk. Heat on low until combined. Separately, mix cornstarch with ¼ cup of the warm cream mixture until smooth, then whisk back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Let cool completely.
Image of cream base ingredients being mixed with a hand mixer, showing the process of creating the creamy texture. -
Combine Strawberry Puree and Cream Base: Gently fold the strawberry puree into the cream mixture until just combined. If desired, fold in reserved strawberry chunks.
Image of strawberry puree being added to the cream base, combining the fruit and cream elements. -
Fill Popsicle Molds: Pour the mixture into your popsicle molds.
Image of popsicle molds being filled with the creamy strawberry paleta mixture. -
Insert Popsicle Sticks: Carefully insert popsicle sticks, ensuring they are centered and not too deep or shallow in the mold.
Image of popsicle sticks being inserted into molds filled with paleta mixture, preparing for freezing. -
Freeze: Freeze for at least 8 hours, or preferably overnight, until solid.
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Unmold: To remove paletas, briefly dip the mold in warm water for about 20 seconds to loosen. Gently wiggle and pull to release the paletas.
Image showing paletas being removed from a silicone mold, highlighting the ease of removal. -
Store: Store creamy strawberry paletas in freezer bags in the freezer for up to 2 weeks for best quality.
Image of finished creamy strawberry paletas, removed from molds and ready to serve or store.
Enjoy your homemade creamy strawberry paletas! This versatile base recipe can be adapted for other fruit flavors as well – let your creativity shine!
