Not cake, but ice.
Two weekends ago when I spent the afternoon judging for Hands On Atlanta, we all had a special treat. During the event, the King of Pops was on site selling his handcrafted popsicles. Usually he’s pushing his cute cart around the streets of Atlanta, but instead he was kicking it inside with us for the event. I was super-excited because I had already heard his story a few weeks before when a friend ran into him at the local farmer’s market. He was buying gobs of strawberries. So many, it prompted her to ask what the heck he was going to do with all of them. Then he handed her his card in the shape of a popsicle. Turns out he’s the King of Pops.
When she told me about meeting him, I decided I was going to track down his cart one day to try some of his icey pops. Luckily, that Saturday, all I had to do was turn around and there he was.
Say Hi. This is Steven. The King of Pops.
Follow him on Twitter if you’re in Atlanta and you can keep up with his flavors and where he’ll be next. He was also featured just yesterday on CNN. Check him out here.
I had the Blackberry Mojito – YUM – but I’m still hitting myself for not trying the Chocolate Sea Salt, too.
You know, I think the only kind I’ve ever made myself are the ones you buy at the grocery store. You know the flavored water kind in those long plastic tubes.
Yeah, those.
So, I decided I wanted to make my own handcrafted popsicles with real fruit.
I just used some paper candy cups I had on hand and wooden popsicle sticks to play with.
It’s really easy to make your own.
Pick a fruit. 2 cups strawberries in this case. Hull and half them.
Throw them in a food processor with 1 Tablespoon super fine sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
Then blend it all together until completely smooth.
Pour and freeze.
These were layered with yogurt in between the strawberry. They were pretty tasty and the perfect size for me.
The recipe came from the book, Ice Pops which has tons more treats like these.
And because Steven can’t show up to everyone’s house with his cart filled with handcrafted popsicles, here’s a chance to win your own Quick Popsicle Maker for fast freezing fun…
…along with the book, too.
Enter for a chance to win:
Zoku Quick Popsicle Maker and Ice Pops book
Just leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite fruit flavor.
Deadline to enter is Tuesday, July, 6th at 5:00 pm ET. Sorry, Time’s Up! Winner Announced Below.
One winner will be chosen at random and announced sometime Tuesday evening.
P.S. Giveaway purchased and sponsored by me, but you can find the book and Zoku pop maker at Williams-Sonoma.
Good luck and stay cool!
And the winner is… #4035. Congrats Marta. You get the Ice Pops book and Zoku Pop Maker. Now you can make your own Raspberry Lime Pops.
Next… I had a treat in my inbox today. Statistician Don… you know Pioneer Woman’s Statistician Don? The numbers guy?
Well, his wife told him about the giveaway I was having and he took time out to pull together these numbers for me. Then I made a little bar chart for you guys from all his hard work. Check out your favorite fruits.
Thanks Don! You’re the sweetest.
Orange and coconut are the boooomb!!!!
Mmmmmango!
kiwi
Strawberry n Cream….yum! :)
Here in South Texas we love fresh fruit paletas. My favorite flavor is strawberry!
Favorite ? What day of the week is it ? Yes, I have many depending on my mood but strawberry or pineapple usually top the list,
What a fantastic idea. I see strawberries or peaches…or better rasberry and cream or all of them in layers…. Yummy!
Hmmm… anything in season, & at the peak of ripeness. But in a perfect world where everything is ripe all the time, and growing on my doorstep… Nectarine. Mmmm…
Ooohhh…I always go back to strawberry! I had a deeelicious shave ice yesterday that was half blue raspberry and have strawberry–I think I would have been better off with cherry and lemon!
these look soooo tempting….gahhh!
me love and adore mango flavour – luscious, rich and extremely addictive
Clementine or Satsuma. I heart citrus! I would love to try the King of Pops’ Tangerine-Basil.
My favorite fruit flavor would be mango, ever since I tried these amazing mango popsicles from Trader Joe’s. However, I’d love to try one of those strawberry lemonade ones!
Coconut please :) mmmm
OMG I neeeeeed these SO bad!! :D
Strawberry is my favorite fruit flavor.
Those look so good! Strawberry is hands-down my favorite fruit flavor. I think I might have to try these out soon!
I love chocolate and cherry. wonder if the two would taste good together?? if I win I will have to let u know!
OMG! They look wonderful. I absolutely love lime and lemon. They taste best with coconuts! :):):):):):):):):)
I love mango! yum (:
My favorite flavor is probably Strawberry! :D
strawberry and lemon are my faves!
My favorite is definitely mango!
mandarin oranges with cinnamon, mmm….
Yum! My favourite fruit flavour is a tie – between mango and raspberry!
Mmm Popsicles! I love tamarind Popsicles.
Raspberry with a hint of chocolate!
They look so beautiful, I’m tempted to try it out ! And my favorite fruit flavor is strawberry – it tastes great in ice creams as well :)
I love orange-flavored things…especially creamsicles!
lychee, layered with pineapple! yum!
They look so refreshing! I love the strawberry yogurt flavour!
Thanks!
i LOVE strawberry!! yummm
I haven’t really had anything but store boughten stuff, but I would have to say creamcicle is my favorite. Or is it banana, or maybe rootbeer…..Nope pretty sure it is creamcicle.
watermelon and mango! yuuum! steven is cute too…ask him if he wants to come to aust?
I’m 8 months pregnant and craving FRUIT so to pick a favorite is just too hard… I want it all! Lately cherries and nectarines have been my thing though.
Yummy, yummy coconut!
Watermelon is definitely my favorite!
Lemon and Lime!
Passion fruit and Mango
I love lime flavored popsicles. Strawberry lime is even better!
Red Grapefruit!!!!
wow, almost 4000 comments already!!
Not that i have any chance to win, but my favourite is strawberries.
But have a question, can you please tell me who is teh author of that book, so I can try to find a copy myself?
Raspberry! Mmm… any berry!
I love the mix of passion fruit and Mango!!!!
Strawberry!
i love lemon !
I would love mango! This giveaway will be GREAT cos its ‘summer’ ALL YEAR round here in Malaysia!
Just found your blog as I was looking for a creative birthday cake idea! Amazing we practically are neighbors! My favorite fruit flavor would have to be strawberry-my four girls absolutely LOVE strawberries, so I can never keep them long enough to make any kind of recipe with it. :-)
Strawberry!
Oh, I like lime flavoured popsicles! They have those here with vanilla cream filling. Yum!
My daughter is addicted to lemonade pops. I’m buying them every time I go to the store these days! This way, she can make her own lemony concoctions…
You must try apricot. It’s divine when it’s frozen! Even better when you cook the apricot a little beforehand to bring out the flavors.
strawberry, of course! cLassic and timeless :)
Strawberry or raspberry. Torn between the two but hands down my favorite flavors. :)
Great giveaway! I’d LOVE to win. Strawberry is my favorite, with raspberry being a close second
Any berry flavor! Esp. with chunks of fruit in it!
Hmm, tough one. I’d have to say cherry-lime. A close second would be pineapple-cherry-orange. If you’ve ever had a Big Stick, those are pineapple-cherry with a touch of orange.
Favorite single flavor, though? Maybe blackberry or pineapple.
Strawberry or mango! Mmm!
Anything berry.. Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry. Nom nom.
I so wish i could also eat those yummy-sounding popsicle from the King of Pops… but thanks for the recipe!
My favorite fruit pop is banana
Love peaches
Thank you so much for the inspiration! They look awesome! Will be trying these very soon! my favourite would be pink lemonade or cherry or strawberry or all of them! would love to win!
Okay, I totally forgot to say my favorite fruit flavor… I hope that doesn’t disqualify me…
If root beer were a fruit, I would pick it, but since it is not, I will have to go with boysenberry. Oh, man. Definitely boyseneberry with pineapple or lemon, or heavens-to-Betsy, rhubarb. Snap!; That’s not a fruit either.
oh and my favorite flavor is coconut!! yummmmy.
Old school blue bubble gum!!
Oh Popsicle! so creative! would love to try the one with Basil! mine all time fav is Lemonade! brrrrr…. yum!
My favorite is lime!!!!
have been eyeing this pop machine for so long! would looove to have it. looks like so much fun =)
I LOVE lime and anything tart, but also sweet berries….especially strawberries and blackberries. I hope today is my lucky day because some cool popsicles would just make life sweet! Thanks for your generosity!!
Hi there! I’d love to win the book and the popsicle maker. My favorite is watermelon! :)
As far as flavored things go, either natural or fake (like candy) I generally opt for strawberry because it’s such a safe bet and its soo yummy, but I can eat red grapes until I make myself sick. Although I tend to dislike most grape flavored items because they don’t really taste grape-y!
My roomate and I actually bought and finished 12 (yes, you read that right, it’s 12) lbs of red grapes in five days last summer.
Oi! Pick me, pick me! It’s like 109 degrees here. It really is. ;)
Those are darling– I would have picked the pineapple habanero for sure. But I am a sucker for chocolate with salt, too… Mmmm.
LOVE anything strawberry! Especially with pieces of strawberries in it. YUM
I love strawberry!
popsicle…so american *hee*! I like my ice lollies in pineapple, but then I have never had the chance to try chocolate sea salt…drool!
Oooh, those look like a lot of fun… and perfect for the high temps we’re stuck with.
I think my favorite fruits are blackberry, nectarine, and citrus… though I do have a certain fondness for strawberry too.
Mango, for sure. Especially where ice cream and ice pops are concerned!
Does root beer count? Even if its just a root?
If I can’t claim it as a fruit then I go with raspberry ~red currant, it’s my favorite jam : )
banana-cream!!!!
So hard to narrow it down to one favorite fruit. I was thinking about cherry, but then I saw another vote for rhubarb and I changed my mind. Tangy rhubarb tempered with some heavy cream. Yum!
Strawberry and cream!!! YUM
I love Popsicles! Esspecially lime. Yum! What a fun give-away. Thank you for the opportunity!
Strawberry, all the way! :)
lychee!
my favourite is mulberry :)
Mulberry and lemonade, or or mulberry and vanilla cream would make a lovely mix for a popsicle.
** I made a nice mulberry jam (picking them with my mother-in-law-to-be and making the jam with my mum), but tis a hard mission to find the big mulberry trees in Perth! **
I love Mango !!!!!
Strawberry! Those look so yummy!
Ahh can you say green with envy?! They look delicious! I would have loved to try the strawberry lemonade and the strawberry cheesecake! Afterall, my favorite fruit flavor IS strawberry. YUMM
Nectarine or white peaches mixed with plums are my fav fruit flavors. I made your banana blueberry muffins which were superb and added 1/2 cup frozen cranberries to the recipe the 2nd time I made them. Excellent. Makes 6 large muffins.
These popsicles look great. :)
I LOVE your site!!! you literally read my mind! these pops are exactly what i needed for a healthy snacking alternative for my two year old! my personal summer fave would have to be strawberry lemonade, YuM!!!
Watermelon !! :)
Date! Living in Israel has made me appreciate it more and more.
My favorite flavor is Mango ~
Id love to win thanks for the chance ?? check out my site ??
Strawberry! I wouldve been all over that strawberry lemonade one!!
passion fruit would be delicious!!
Banana would be my favorite!! But horchata pops would come in a close second place. Thanks for all the ideas.
My favorite is strawberry kiwi!
Chocolate sea salt sounds odd but delicious.
I love selfmade Ice Pops! Most of the time I make them with strawberries, my favourite fruits.
Thank you for the tip to make stripped pops, I always mixed everything together, so mine where just in one colour.
My favorite fruit flavor varies, but is usually either peach or strawberry. Yum!
I wish I could win. I would make something with passion fruit.
Raspberry for sure!
cantaloupe melon. yum yum yum!
Melonnnn is my favorite! That Pineapple Habanero sounds like you can take a trip to Mexico when eating one of those!!
Definitely strawberry. YUM!
Peach!
Hands down, my favorite fruit flavor would probably be lychee! This exotic unknown fruit is sooo sweet and refreshing on a hot summer day. My grandparents use to puree lychee into this dessert with almond pudding and other goodies. Yum!
mmmm i love popsicles! i’ve always wanted to try and make some but never knew where to start!
My favorite flavor would have to be cherry :)
growing up, i loved those raspberry juice pops :)
oh my! mine would definitely be pineapple birdie lemonade! its really nice. i tried it in us. absolutely fantastic!
That simple, classic flavor of strawpeachpassionbluepinekiwimelonberry, of course.
I’ve got to say that peach and strawberry are high on my fruit favorites. .and orange. . . kiwi. . .I LOVE fruit lol
YUM! My favorite is strawberry!! Thanks for the delish giveaway!
Hands down and sort of berry!!
Strayberry
Raspberry
Blueberry
and
CHERRY!!
I love your site – always makes me hungry! ;) My favorite fruit flavor is tangerine! I’ve seen those Zoku things and have wanted to get one!
lime is the best ever
I’ve been making all kinds of ice pops for my 16 month old. Her (well, our…) favorite is mashed banana and mango with mango coconut yogurt and pineapple chunks.
Probably Strawberry or Lime!!!
i love mangoes =]
Blueberry is my hands-down favorite!
Pomegranate!!
Hmmm… there is nothing like Mangos in the summer n Paris! Simply Divine
Too bad chocolate’s not a fruit because chocolate sea salt sounds amazing! but my favorite fruit flavor is orange!
strawberry!!
blackberry!
I’m a strawberry devotee and now I’m dreaming about the King of Pops’ strawberry cheesecake!
Strawberry!
Pineapple!
Pineapple & Strawberru/
Thanks for the giveaway.
strawberry is definitely my favorite!
traditional strawberry all the way! :)
Fresh blackberries! Mmmm!
I just watched the video about the zoku at williams sanoma and oh-my-gosh-i-want-one-SO-bad! Please pick me!
Grape.
Strawberry!
I Love Mango! :-)
My mind is stuck on the chocolate sea salt! I want to try that one. Chocolate is a fruit, right?… you know the cocoa bean growing on a tree and all, it’s gotta be!
Fruit flavor…mmm…I usually go for cherry anything.
Though I don’t like actual cherries. :\
Banana blueberry!
Strawberry!!
Mmmm…strawberry or peach!
favorite fruit flavor: blueberry!
Strawberry! No — lemon!
Lemonade!!!!!!!!!
It’s my birthday today! I’d love to win these!
Mango/Rasberry, used this combo when I made the Barefoot Contessa’s Ice Creme Bombe – it was soooo good!
Thanks!
Orange/vanilla, or strawberry. Yummm just thinking about all the flavors is making me hungry.
I love cherrylimeade!!!!
That looks so fun!
I love real cherry flavor!
My chances aren’t great, but i’m giving it a go anyway. :)
How did you get your sticks to freeze upright, btw?
good ole strawberry!
mango….summer love!
i really like strawberry orange flavored things.. but any fruit with a hint of citrus is right up my alley!
(i’ve been eyeing that WS set for a while now and just can’t get myself to purchase it, but winning it would solve all the problems! :P)
limeade!!
Definitely strawberry. :)
Hmm. It’s gotta be watermelon!
my favorite flavor is strawberry, i love eating all the chunky strawberries. I just tell myself its like eating strawberries frozen, no sugar added ;)
My favorite fruit flavor is peach. I love it in everything. It’s weird though, because I won’t eat a peach by itself. All that fuzz.
Cherry with some lime added in for some ZING!
durian! is it possible to make into a pop? maybe I’ll give it a try :)
How do I choose just one fruit??? Maybe a Strawberry/Watermelon one? I would be so excited to get this! These are great treats!
Oh, to pick just one. Cherries are on sale right now and they are lovely, so today I’d say cherry. With dark chocolate chunks. Or cherry with chocolate pudding, yum! Or cherry layered with slightly sweetened greek yogurt…and chocolate pudding. I’m just going to stop right now.
yummo! those look delicious! i guess my favorite fruit flavor is strawberry, but banana is a close second…
Pineapple or coconut!
for desserts, lemon! for snacks, watermelon! for popsicles, purple! …that’s a flavor, right? =)
What a treat! My first try at making my own ice pops would be mango, my favorite fruit!
I’m definitely a strawberry girl, but raspberries are a close second.
my favorite fruit is cantaloupe
Mango….even better with chili powder sprinkled on…….MMMM….getting hungry thinking about it now :)
All of those flavors look really cool, I might have to make some for the summer. Thanks for the ideas
Those are so cute! My favorite flavor is strawberry but lemon comes close! :D
My favorite popsicle flavor is orange cream, but I LOVE raspberry too!
AHH How amazing!!
I think my fav fruits are mango and strawberries… put the two together in a frozen yummy Popsicle.. AH to die for :) That machine looks so cool!
Lime!!!!
Banana….and any mix of fruit that involves banana. And my daughter and I have made our own pops several times this summer … but it’s usually messy. Ok, we’re messy :)
Definitely grape! its hard to find the perfect grape pop!
Hm, maybe strawberry banana, my husband loves that flavor!
mmm Cherry/Pineapple!! omg Id have so much fun making different flavors!
Yum……Passion fruit. Perfect weather for pops!
My favorite flavor is PEACH! I am CRAZY about it! Peach smoothies, peach juice, grilled peaches, peaches with whipped cream– It’s all delicious to me!
Strawberry, for sure!&Those popsicles look amazing!
I think a Passion Fruit Popsicle might be pretty darn good! Id have fun trying :)
Strawberry or pineapple!!
I lovelovelove lime popsicles. Or sherbet. It’s all great!
hands down strawberry!! yum yum!
honeydew melon…it’s creamy and mmmmmm!
Mmmm, strawberry lemonade. Sounds so tasty right now!
mmmmm…strawberry!
Coconut…no Watermelon…. erm… Banana… Orange! Coconut/ banana in layers? I have an awesome recipe for watermelon sorbet that I’m waiting on my watermelons to ripen in my garden to make again!
I’d have to try the Chocolate Sea Salt one… Course with someone as cute as him selling them I’d probably be back everyday to get a new flavor!
Blackberry and yogurt here in Seattle!
Wow that chocolate sea salt sounds amazing! My favorite fruit flavor is definitely lychee – yummo!!
chocolate is my fav fruit lol……well ok add a banana
There isn’t a fruit i wouldn’t eat but if i had to pick one ….. hands down, no contest – blackberry!!!!
They grow wild here in Seattle and the month of August is divine with fresh blackberry treats.
Craving blackberry pops now :)
Creamsicles and Fudgepops are my favorite.
mmm…looks so yummy. I love citrus flavours, so fresh. especially lemon and lime.
ooo pick me please! :)
strawberry is best. always.
Strawberry is my fave.
I looove coconut! Its my all time fav. :]