Strawberry Pops

Poached lemon can be made weeks in advance. Remove stems and cut each lemon into 4 or 8 wedges. Trim wedges and remove and discard any excess membranes and seeds as well. In order to remove its bitterness, lemons need to be blanched; place lemon wedges in a saucepan and cover with cold water, bring to boil and drain. Repeat this step twice, drain and rinse. Cover the blanched lemon wedges with the sugar and water. Bring to boil and cook on very low for 4 to 5 hours at 195ºF/90ºC; maintain a very low simmer. Drain lemon wedges and arrange them in jar. Save up syrup and cook to 218ºF/103ºC. Cool, and pour syrup over the poached lemons to cover; chill for up to 3 months.

Heat up lemon juice and water. Meanwhile, combine sugar and agar-agar. Sprinkle sugar-agar mixture in hot liquid stirring constantly using a whisk. Bring to a boil and cook for a minute on low heat. Cool mixture on ice water to set completely and chill. Add Limoncello and blend well to smooth out. Set aside. Combine marmalade with the fruit mixture. Fill one-third up of the Silikomart silicone mini ice cream bar mold and freeze.

*Herbs crystal is a trademark from Fresh Origins Microgreens. Fresh Origins is America’s leading producer of Microgreens and Edible Flowers. Available online. Soak gelatin in cold water to soften, and drain. Melt white chocolate (just melted). Meanwhile, heat up heavy cream and mix in chocolate. Blend in the softened gelatin, add remaining chilled heavy cream, and then strawberry puree. Blend well and chill overnight.

Whip chilled strawberry mousse to soft peaks. Fill up frozen molds to the top and insert sticks. With an offset spatula, even up surface making sure the mousse goes deep inside each cavity. Freeze bars for at least 6 hours before un-molding. Arrange on a frozen tray lined with silicone mat; keep frozen. Save leftover mousse for later use.

Melt cocoa butter first and mix in white chocolate and mix. Add food coloring and mix. Pass through a sieve. Warm up glaze to 95ºF/35ºC. Glaze bars and sprinkle with some herb crystals basil right before it sets. Save glaze for later use. Store bars in the refrigerator a couple of hours to thaw prior serving. Pops can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or kept frozen for weeks. Enjoy!