Itsy Bitsy Foodies

When Simply Orange Juice recently contacted me with the offer to send me product coupons for free samples, I first made an Orange Julius. My thoughts then turned to orange creamsicles and the idea of turning this orange-coated vanilla popsicle into a layered ice cream dessert.

My family is a big fan of Simply Orange Juice and the other juices in their product line. I love their simple approach to making juice, letting the natural flavors of the fruits speak for themselves, not adding sugar or preservatives. Now when I don’t have time to make freshly-squeezed orange juice (which I’ll admit is most of the time), Simply Orange Juice is my OJ of choice.

This orange creamsicle dessert is simple to make but requires several steps of freezing to make the separate layers. I recommend using vanilla bean ice cream because it is very white in color and will provide greater color contrast between the layers. When making the orange milkshake for the center layer, you can adjust the ratio of ice cream to orange juice to fit your color and texture preferences. The more orange juice you add, the orange layer will be more orange in color but icier in texture.

Ingredients

Vanilla bean ice cream, roughly 1 1/2 quarts, divided

1/2 cup – 1 cup Simply Orange Juice

Simply Orange Juice, frozen in ice cube shapes, optional

Let the ice cream sit out at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until it is soft enough to work with.

Spread the softened ice cream into the bottom third of a loaf pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze it until the ice cream is solid.

Blend 2 cups of vanilla ice cream with 1/2 cup or more of orange juice to reach your desired consistency and color. Pour the orange milkshake into the loaf pan. (It should fill a third or less of the pan.) Cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze it until the orange juice layer is solid.

Let the remaining vanilla ice cream sit out at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until it is soft enough to work with. Spread it onto the frozen orange layer to fill the top third of the loaf pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it freeze for several hours or until the ice cream is solid.

To serve the layered orange creamsicle dessert, slice the ice cream width-wise and gently lift the layered orange creamsicle slices out, placing them flat on individual serving plates. Garnish the ice cream with orange juice ice cubes frozen in shapes if desired.

TIP: Use vanilla bean ice cream so that it is very white in color. (French vanilla ice cream tends to have a yellow tint.) This will intensify the contrast of the ice cream and orange layers.