Never grown up? These sophisticated white chocolate popsicles with plum and star anise will bring out your inner child

When you're hosting a party for a crowd, it's so much more relaxing to serve up a dessert that you can not only make well in advance, but can make in bulk, too.

These white chocolate popsicles with plum and star anise will be enjoyed by kids and grown-ups alike, offering a new twist on classic ice cream recipes.

Ingredients

• Makes 8
• For the plum mixture:
  • 2.1 oz golden caster sugar
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 10.6 oz ripe plums (about 6-7), stoned and roughly chopped
  • Juice of ½ lemon
• For the white chocolate mixture: 
  • 5.3 oz good-quality white chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2.5 oz condensed milk
  • 6.8 fl oz whole milk
  • 5 fl oz single cream
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

The Homes & Gardens method

1. For the plum mixture, put the sugar in a medium pan with ⅓ cup water. Heat through, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Add the star anise (you can buy star anise at Amazon if you can't find it at the store) and bring to the boil. Simmer for five minutes, then add the plums. Turn the heat down slightly and simmer for five to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the plums soften and begin to break down. Set aside to cool then discard the star anise. 
2. Blitz the plum mixture in a small blender, until smooth, then stir in the lemon juice. This mixture can be made up to four days ahead of time and kept, covered, in the fridge. 
3. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the condensed milk, milk and cream in a small pan over a medium heat. As soon as it begins to boil, pour straight over the chocolate. Leave for one minute, then add the vanilla extract and stir until smooth (the chocolate should have melted). Cover the surface with Saran Wrap and leave to cool. Whisk well to emulsify, then transfer to a jug. 
4. Have eight 150ml lolly molds and wooden sticks ready (this mold set from Amazon comes with sticks). Pour a little chocolate mixture into the base of each mold, followed by a tablespoon of plum mixture. Pour in a slightly more generous helping of chocolate and another tablespoon of plum, repeating until you reach the top of each mold. Using a skewer or slim teaspoon handle, give the contents of each mould a brief stir to create a marble effect, being careful not to over do it and ruin the marbling. Freeze for 40 minutes, then put a wooden lolly stick into each mold - it should stand upright. Freeze for at least three hours until solid. 
5. This step shouldn't be difficult with silicone molds, but with others, to turn out, dip the outside of each mold into very hot water for a couple of seconds and gently pull the lolly out by the stick (repeat if the lolly isn't budging).