These Ice Cream Pops Are the Bubble Tea-Inspired Treat We All Need for Summer
You’ll even learn how to make your very own boba!
Matt
Remember the White Claw and fried chicken sandwich shortage of 2019? After record high sales, no one could find the spiked seltzer beverage or beloved fast-food creation anywhere. Now, it looks like another dreaded food shortage is rearing its head: according to NPR, the New York Times and other news outlets, the U.S. is currently experiencing a boba shortage, and it’ll probably last well into the scorching months of summer.
Whether you’re super familiar with boba or you’ve never heard of it before, the glistening tapioca balls are a staple in bubble tea (or pearl milk tea or tapioca tea as it’s also called in different parts of the country.) And while you can technically enjoy milk tea without the sticky, bubble-shaped treats floating at the bottom of your cup, it just doesn’t taste the same without them. Luckily, Food Network Kitchen’s newest Brown Sugar Boba Ice Cream Pops will help you sidestep the boba shortage altogether by teaching you how to make the beloved pearls from scratch. You’ll also learn how to use them in a new and unique way by transforming them into a fun and frozen treat.
Inspired by brown sugar bubble tea, the base of these Taiwanese ice cream treats are made from a delicious and creamy blend of sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. Though boba is typically made from a combination of sugar, cornstarch, sweet potato starch and cassava starch, store-bought versions tend to harden when you freeze them, causing the boba to lose its beloved chewy texture. After testing a few different options, recipe developer Maya Ferrante found that incorporating glutinous rice flour, dark brown sugar and boiled water gives you the ideal boba consistency. Once combined, you’ll take your boba “dough” and roll it out into a bunch of miniature spheres before immersing and cooking them in even more boiling water. Your resulting boba will be soft, spongy and beautifully buoyant.
Two tablespoons of molasses make your handmade bubbles irresistibly sticky and add the finishing touch to your ice cream pops. Whether you make this recipe from start to finish or you just make the homemade bubbles and add them to your own bubble tea creation, these delicious, swirly treats are sure to make the summer’s boba shortage a bit more bearable and delicious.
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