Blackberry & Chèvre Popsicle
INGREDIENTS
• 1 ¼ cups milk
• 3 Sprigs thyme
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup goat cheese
• 1 ½ cups blackberries
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup Bourbon
Instructions
1.Warm the 1 1/4 cup of milk in a small sauce pan but do not bring it to a boil. Add the 3 sprigs of thyme, cover and let it steep for about 5 minutes.
2.Add in the 1/2 cup of honey and mix well.
3.Transfer the milk-mixture to a measuring cup. Add the 1/2 cup chèvre to the pan. Add equal parts of the milk-mixture and whisk the ingredients together, emulsifying them. You may need heat for this.
NOTE: All chèvre is not created equal, and this is especially true when exposed to heat. The goat cheese can either separate or become grainy, or both. So I suggest you melt some of your chèvre prior to making this recipe. If it separates, it should be fine when you make the popsicle. If it becomes grainy, you have a lot of whisking ahead of you. And you can just strain out the extra.
4.In a separate sauce pan, add the 1 1/2 cup of blackberries and lightly mash them. Add the 1 cup of brown sugar and warm the mixture over a medium-high heat until the sugar has completely combined.
5.Transfer the mixture to a measuring cup that holds at least 2 cups. You should have at least 1 cup of blackberry syrup. If you do, mix in 1/3 cup of bourbon. If it is less, you will need to adjust the bourbon as you can only freeze liquids that are 20% alcohol. So you will have to do some math to adjust–sorry!
6.Combine the mixtures in your popsicle mold, add the popsicle sticks and freeze them for about 10 hours.