Ice cream and dessert toppings with popping pearls
A cup of popping pearls is a topping with no prep: peel the lid and spoon it over something cold. On ice cream, kulfi and sorbet the pearls add a burst ice cream never has. On cheesecake and panna cotta they do the job of a sauce. On yogurt, custard, jelly and fruit chaat they put something to bite between soft spoonfuls.
The rule is the same for all nineteen: the dessert is set and cold before the pearls go on, and they go on last, just before it is served. Never into warm custard, hot jelly or the oven. Hibiscus is floral up front and tart on the finish, Peach is soft and juicy, Lemon is bright and zesty.
On ice cream and kulfi
Spoon the pearls on just before serving. For the affogato, the espresso cools to room temperature before it goes anywhere near them.
Falooda
Falooda is already a glass of layers. The pearls go on the ice cream so they stay where you can see them.
Falooda toppings, from these two recipes
- Falooda sev or soaked vermicelli
- Sabja (basil seeds), soaked
- Rose syrup, or strawberry syrup
- Kulfi or vanilla ice cream
- Chopped pistachio
- A cup of popping pearls, on top
Cheesecake and panna cotta
A chilled slice, no-bake eggless cheesecake cups, cheesecake jars and a panna cotta set with agar-agar. The pearls go on the set, cold dessert.
Custard, jelly and chaat
The custard and the jelly are made ahead and served cold; the pearls go on at the table. Fruit chaat travels in a tiffin with the pearl cups still sealed.
Breakfast bowls
Yogurt bowls, a parfait, overnight oats and a smoothie bowl. The pearls go on in the morning, after the blender, never the night before.
The rule: cold, and last
Pearls are a finish. They go into cold or room-temperature food and drink, after the ice and the pour, and they are never boiled, baked or blended. One 40 ml cup is one serving, so every recipe here counts pearls by the cup.
The pearls in these recipes
- Hibiscus popping pearlsfloral, tart · in 9 of these 19
- Peach popping pearlssoft, juicy · in 10 of these 19
- Lemon popping pearlsbright, zesty · in 6 of these 19
More recipe lists
- Drinksiced teas, sodas, lemonades and desi classics
- Mocktailsparty drinks, no alcohol
- FestiveDiwali, Christmas and New Year
- All 46 recipessearch by flavour, type or ingredient
Nothing on this page is a claim about what the pearls do.