Orange Creamsicle Pops with Vanilla Bean Cream

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The truck-window classic, rebuilt from real squeezed oranges and a vanilla bean cream that stays scoopably soft instead of freezing into an ice brick. Layered in three passes so every bite gets both tart citrus sherbet and cold, milky vanilla — and a splash of corn syrup plus the fat in the cream keeps the texture smooth without an ice cream machine.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed orange juice (5-6 medium oranges), strained
• 2 tsp finely grated orange zest
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp light corn syrup
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 pinch kosher salt

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1 tsp light corn syrup
• 1 pinch kosher salt

• 10 3-oz popsicle molds with sticks (or small paper cups plus wooden sticks and foil)

Instructions

1. Make the orange base: in a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the orange juice with the sugar, corn syrup, orange zest, and salt. Warm over medium heat, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the sugar fully dissolves — do not let it boil. Scrape into a bowl or pitcher and stir in the remaining 1 cup orange juice and the lemon juice. Refrigerate while you make the cream.
2. Make the cream base: put the milk in a small saucepan. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the milk and drop in the pod. Heat over medium-low just until steam rises and small bubbles form at the edge, about 3 minutes, then remove from the heat and steep 10 minutes. Fish out the pod. (If using extract, skip the heating and simply whisk it into the cold milk.)
3. Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, yogurt, corn syrup, and salt into the vanilla milk until completely smooth and pourable — no lumps of yogurt. Chill both bases in the refrigerator for 20 minutes; cold mixtures set into cleaner layers.
4. Stir the orange base well and pour it into the molds, filling each about one-third full (roughly 1 oz each; you will use a little over half the orange base). Freeze on a level shelf for 40 to 50 minutes, until slushy and thick enough to hold a stick upright.
5. Insert the sticks so they stand straight, then gently spoon or pour in the cream base to fill each mold about two-thirds to three-quarters full. Freeze another 40 to 50 minutes, until the cream layer is firm on top.
6. Top off with the remaining orange base, leaving 1/4 inch of headroom for expansion, and cap the molds. Freeze until solid all the way through, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
7. To unmold, run the outside of the mold under warm (not hot) tap water for 15 to 20 seconds, then pull the stick straight up with steady pressure. If it resists, give it another 10 seconds of water rather than yanking. Let the pops sit at room temperature for 2 minutes before eating so the flavors come forward.
8. Store unmolded pops individually wrapped in parchment or small zip-top bags in the coldest part of the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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