Mocha Fudgesicles

Your lives probably haven't been inculcated with The Simpsons like mine has. I'm not just talking about watching the show (the golden years anyway), though that is a part of it. I'm talking about Simpsons quotes flying all over the place whenever your family gets together, about playing Simpsons Themed games and reading Simpsons themed books. About marking the mood/tenor/hilarity/tragedy of a situation with the quote perfectly befitting the occasion. Does that seem insane to you?

Then you might not have fun eating dinner with my family.

Once, in college, my friend's sister's boyfriend's roommate had heard of my epic Simpsons knowledge (yeah, it was pretty renowned) and challenged me to a trivia contest. Guess who won?

I trounced him. It wasn't even close. I was almost embarrassed for him.

Almost.

So it stands to reason that any mention of fudgesicles is accompanied by a Simpsons reference. In fact, I can't think about fudgesicles without quoting this line, from Millhouse to Bart:

"You said there'd be fudgicles, Bart. Where's the fudgicles?"

"First of all, it's 'fudge-Sicle.'" 

So I bring you these fudgesicles, which have only been called fudgicles in my household. They are smooth and pudding-y, enjoyed by children and adults alike. The Mosher version of the recipe simply involves omitting the espresso powder. For the purposes of the blog, I made a regular batch and a Mosher batch. I know I didn't have to--who's going to call me on it?--but . . . confession: I am a Mormon who loves the smell/flavor/idea of coffee. How's that for flirting with the enemy, eh?

But despite my dark little secret, I think I liked these better without the espresso powder. The coffee flavor seemed to overpower the cocoa, in my opinion. If I were to make them mocha again, I'll probably halve the espresso powder. 

The base fudgicle, though--definitely worth repeating.

Mocha Fudgesicles (printable recipe)

Recipe courtesy of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Copied with permission.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 c sugar
• 2 Tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp instant espresso powder*
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 c heavy cream
• 2 3/4 c whole milk

Cooking Directions

1. Put the butter in a large heatproof bowl and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, flour, and cornstarch. Add the egg and cream and whisk until combined.
3. Place the saucepan over medium heat and slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. After the mixture boils, continue to cook, whisking, for another 2 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the butter. Whisk vigorously for 1 minute to cool slightly. Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes, whisk vigorously for 1 minute, then pour into ice pop molds. Freeze until hard, about 6 hours. Release the pops from the mold by quickly running hot water along the plastic surface of the mold (be sure not to let the water touch the pops), then pull the pops out of the mold.

*Espresso powder can be omitted.