No-churn green tea and raspberry cheesecake ice cream pops

I scream, you scream, we all scream for green tea ice cream!!!!!!

Well, if green tea is your thing.... If not, go away! I don't need negativity in my life 🤣

How's the weather in your side of the world lately?! *#¡¿%*@#!

Yeah, I feel you! *sigh*

It's hot as Hades here lately and the high humidity is adding more discomfort. For someone who doesn't like summer, I'm counting the days okay, months, until it's winter again 🙄 😅

But summer has its own merit, making ice cream for one thing, lots of ice cream!

And because I love using green tea or matcha in almost everything bar savouries.....

No ice cream machine needed in making this refreshing dessert. All you need is good-quality ingredients and time.

Haven't had cheesecake ice cream yet?! Then you're in for a treat!

Cheesecake ice cream is pretty much the same way you make a no-bake cheesecake except you don't need gelatine to make it stable.

What's the 2nd (ha!) best thing about this ice cream?! The chocolate glaze! You can never go wrong with chocolate, right? This glaze is almost the same as the one I've made last time, I just reduced the amount of cocoa butter and toasted the almonds which added a delightful nutty flavour. If using the usual cocoa butter, you need 2 parts couverture chocolate to 1 part cocoa butter to make the glaze.

Green tea cheesecake ice cream:

300 grams whipping cream (35%), well-chilled
105 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
135 grams condensed milk, chilled
12 grams green tea powder
2 grams fine sea salt
10 grams calamansi juice

75 gram raspberry compote (recipe below)
30 grams caramelized biscuits/speculoos, coarsely chopped

* Pour cream in a chilled bowl (or you can prepare an ice bath esp if the weather is very hot) and beat until stiff peaks form. Chill in the fridge until needed.

* In another bowl, combine cream cheese, milk, green tea powder and salt. Beat until mixture is smooth, stir in the calamansi juice. Fold in half of the whipped cream to the green tea mixture until well-combined then add in the remaining half, stir well.

* If using a small kind of silicone mould, place ice cream mixture in a piping bag and pipe into each cavity halfway. Add in small amount of raspberry compote, pipe in more ice cream mixture to the rim. Use a chopstick to make a swirl then add in some crushed biscuits on top. Do the same with the rest and use a metal spatula to level the top. Freeze until almost solid then stick in lolly stick on top of each ice cream balls.

* Or you can pour half of the ice cream mixture into a freezer-proof container. Add in 1/2 of the compote and some crushed biscuits and pour the remaining ice cream mixture. Spoon in the remaining compote and biscuits and use a chopstick or a knife to make a swirls. Freeze overnight.

Raspberry compote:

200 grams raspberry purée
40 grams raw sugar
5 grams pectin
5 grams calamansi juice

* In a small bowl, combine sugar and pectin, set aside.

* In a small saucepan, bring purée to the boil, stir in pectin-sugar mixture and let boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add in the juice and mix until combined. Transfer to a small heat-proof bowl and let cool completely then chill in the fridge until needed.

* Store in the fridge and use within 5-7 days or freeze and it'll last for months.

* You can make this a day ahead.

Chocolate-almond glaze:

110 grams (Belgian) Maracaibo milk chocolate buttons (44%), finely chopped
40 grams (Valrhona) dark chocolate feves (55%), finely chopped
10 grams (Callebaut) Mycryo cocoa butter powder
20 grams diced almonds, toasted

* Melt chocolate (temperature not more than 45ºC) over a pot of barely simmering water., stirring from time to time. Take pan off heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted.

* Once melted, add in the cocoa butter, wait for few seconds before stirring. Stir until smooth; pour glaze in a tall and narrow glass/container, add in diced almonds. Use glaze at 34ºC.

* Dip each ice cream ball onto the glaze one at a time, lightly scrape the bottom along the top of the glass to remove excess glaze. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and do the rest.

* Glaze will set almost immediately so it's important that the ice cream ball is hard when you dip it.

* To easily dip each ball onto the glaze, if not using a lolly sticks, (just like I did with some of the ice cream balls) use a bamboo or metal skewer and poke the top and dip. Use a small fork to hold the glazed ice cream ball then gently remove the stick.

* Freeze for at least 30 minutes before serving.

* For the ice cream on the tub, let stand for about 5 minutes (depending on ambient temperature) at room temperature before serving.

* The amount of the glaze will only coat 16 pieces of ice cream balls. Adjust the ingredients accordingly.