Tropical and refreshing, coconut popsicles (Filipino ice buko) are a fantastic way to stay cool on a sizzling summer day.
(A fan of coconut and tropical flavors? Try this no-bake pineapple coconut cream pie. Coconut + pineapples = the best summer dessert ever. Or if you’re looking for something different, try this blackberry lavender ice cream. So good!)
The Philippines is a land of coconut trees.
My grandparents owned a bit of land filled with coconut trees and I have fond memories of drinking fresh juice straight out of the coconut that was just cut from the tree.
Then proceeding to scoop out the soft, delicious coconut meat and eating that, all while sitting in the middle of a coconut wonderland where carabaos roam lazily and birds sing cheerfully. Ah, island life.
I grew up in Manila however; and although you can easily buy fresh coconuts there, the drinking and the eating part is not so dreamy.
And in Toronto where I now live, it’s gotten even worse because the only coconut I can buy is either frozen, canned or dried.
Coconuts are awesome though. So on this second week of our No-Bake August (last week we made homemade ice cream without an ice cream machine!), we’re not letting the unavailability of fresh coconut stop us from taking this ice buko recipe for a spin.
Let’s go nuts for coconuts (sorry, can’t help myself lol).
What is Filipino ice buko?
Filipino ice buko is really nothing more than coconut juice and shredded young coconut meat sweetened and frozen.
You will find them in most sari-sari stores (it’s kind of like a bodega that you can find in almost every street in the Philippines) and kids all over the neighbourhood go gaga over them.
If you grew up in the Philippines, chances are ice buko is one of your childhood favourites.
(Love to combine coconut with other flavors? Try cherry popsicle!)
How to make
The best ones are of course those made at home. Where you can constantly check the freezer to see if they’re ready yet. And constantly get in trouble because you opening the freezer door makes it longer for them to set lol.
Good news is, it’s really easy to make at home.
Out of all the recipe testing I’ve done, this ice buko recipe hits the spot.
I used coconut water (instead of fresh juice), condensed milk to sweeten, heavy cream, and toasted shredded coconut (instead of fresh coconut meat).
It’s really good (we had taste testers at home last week and they agree too!) and tastes just like the ones from back home.
All about popsicle molds
I bought this popsicle mold from Amazon and let me tell you, making popsicles is one of the funnest things I’ve done this summer (try these rainbow popsicles!).
You essentially just stir or blend your mixture, put them in the molds, freeze and enjoy.
If you don’t have a popsicle mold, you can still make popsicles at home. Here’s a brilliant hack I found.
The best homemade ice buko
Back to these coconut popsicles. They’re so delicious and refreshing, they’re the tropics in popsicle form.
So the unavailability of fresh coconuts notwithstanding, these coconut popsicles are an awesome summer treat. Try them!
Other refreshing summer treats
Looking for other ways to stay cool this summer? This fresh mango mousse has only 2 ingredients, is a breeze to make and is perfect on a sunny day.
If you’re craving for cake but don’t want to turn the oven on, this strawberry refrigerator cake (or strawberry icebox cake made Filipino-style) is just the cake for you.
In the mood for ice cream? Grab some fresh peaches, a splash of bourbon (yeah!) and make a batch of fresh peach ice cream. And no, you don’t need an ice cream machine (you’re welcome).
Happy popsicle making!
Did you make this ice buko recipe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
Coconut Popsicles (Filipino Ice Buko)
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut water
- ⅓ cup condensed milk adjust according to taste
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 5 tsp sweetened shredded coconut toasted
Instructions
- Stir 2 cups coconut water, ⅓ cup condensed milk and ¾ cup heavy cream in a medium-sized bowl until well combined. Divide and transfer evenly into your popsicle molds.
- Put ½ teaspoon shredded coconut into each mold and freeze overnight or until frozen solid.
Video
Notes
- If you’re using a popsicle mold, you can put the popsicle sticks into the holder right after you snap the lid on and freeze them together with the popsicles.
- If you’re using paper cups or something else, you’ll need to wait until the popsicles are half-frozen before inserting the sticks, then put the pops back into the freezer to set completely.
- For the toasted coconut, I found that when you put them into the mold first, they tend to stick to the bottom of the popsicle. If you put them in last and stir a little, most would tend to stick to the top but you’d get bits of coconut all around the pop. Experiment and see what you like.
- The recipe yield depends on what popsicle mold you use.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Arlene Mobley
This is my all time favorite flavor combo!
Marisa F. Stewart
Since we now live minutes from our grandsons I will be ordering some popsicle forms to make them some summer treats. And to start off the popsicles season I will make the coconut popsicles. They look delicious. And what wonderful memories to have of your grandparents and sampling the delicious coconut juice from the nuts on their trees. Can’t wait to make this.
Jolina
Making popsicles is so fun! Enjoy 🙂
Denise
Perfect popsicles! I love that there are only a few simple ingredients to make these!
Veena Azmanov
Love the flavor and love the option for the weather. Perfect and delicious.
Gloria
Homemade frozen treats are so good. You can control exactly what goes in them. Plus, you cannot find flavours like this in the store. My grandkids would love these for sure.
BB
This is next on my list. This is quickly becoming my favorite cooking page.
Sandra Garth
I’d eat these any time of the year. Thank you for sharing with us at Celebrate Your Story and have a great week!
Jolina
Hi Sandra! Thank you for having me! Hope to share more stories with you guys. Have a wonderful week ahead as well 🙂
Melanie Smith
Delicious and refreshing! This is the perfect recipe for this hot weather.
Jolina
This summer has been hotter than usual all around eh? No complaints from me though, I love warm weather 🙂 Thanks Melanie!
Rose
Yum! I love coconut water (fresh one though) and young coconut meat. I’ve never try coconut water with condensed milk, I used palm sugar instead. I will ask my Filipino friends about Ice Buko, I can see they grin already hehehe.
Jolina
LOL! I think they will be pretty surprised if you ask them out of the blue. I want to be there when you do, just to see their faces haha 🙂 I do miss fresh coconut juice. And coconut meat. Thanks Rose!
Mischs
This looks really nice! Not a huge fan of coconu but will definitley have to try this out!
Jolina
Thanks a lot Mischs! Hope this turns you into a fan…no? yes? 🙂
Laura
Wow, these look simple enough that I might actually make them – which is cool, because they look delicious. 🙂
Jolina
They’re super simple Laura! I promise 🙂 Hope you try them.
Christine
First of all, popsicles right now of any kind = FAVE! But THESE. Coconut popsicles sound EPIC!
Jolina
IKR? Everywhere I look, all kinds of popsicle flavours 🙂 Which is awesome! Thanks Christine!
Girlie
Yummy! These are perfect for summer.. I’ll have to give these a try before the end of summer!
Jolina
Absolutely! Though, I would really still eat these in the winter lol 🙂
lily kate
Any food that reminds you of childhood is fab! We never have access to coconuts fresh from the tree here in the UK, but I can imagine they’re so refreshing. And the popsicles sound so sweet and fun!
Jolina
It is, isn’t it? Food holds so much memories! These popsicles are one of my favourites, hope you get to try them!
Borka
I love coconut! This ice cream seems so yummy! Thank you for sharing your recipe. Would love to try it
Jolina
Thanks a lot Borka! Would love to hear how it goes. Hope you like it! 🙂