Tag Archives: coconut

Coconut Cream Tarts

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Coconut is such a versatile fruit.  You can pretty much make use of every parts of the fruit, even the husk can be used to make flowering pots or carpets !  Coconut milk and oil are extracted from its meat and are widely used in many cuisines.  I love coconut milk. It matches really well with many ingredients, sweet or savoury. This was originally a pastry cream recipe. I substituted some of the milk with coconut milk. The shredded coconut gave the tarts extra texture and the lime zest just brighten everything up.  Don’t throw away the leftover tart shell trimmings. They make great butter cookies. Just gather the trimmings to form a dough, roll it out to 1/8 inch in thickness, cut with cookie cutters and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350°F !  It’s nice when no food is wasted ! 

Makes about three 4 inch tarts 

For the tart shells

  • 120 g cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
  • 75 g granulated sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 180 g cake and pastry flour, sifted
  1. Mix together cold butter and sugar using a wooden spoon until no more lumps
  2. Add egg yolk, mix until blended
  3. Add flour all at once, mix with the wooden spoon, then transfer onto a table or counter and gently knead dough together (just work until ingredients are mixed in)
  4. Wrap with plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight
  5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF
  6. Knead dough until pliable
  7. Roll dough out to about 1/8 inch in thickness on a floured surface, dock with a fork
  8. Place inside slightly greased tart molds, trim off excess dough 
  9. Bake for about 12 minutes till golden, let coolBaked Tart Shells

For the coconut cream

  • 400 mL canned coconut milk 
  • 100 mL milk 
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 75 g granulated sugar 
  • 40 g cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut 
  • Zest of 1/2 lime 
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
  1. Mix coconut milk and milk together until smooth 
  2. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and 1/2 cup of the milk mixture together until no more lumps
  3. Heat remaining milk in a pot over medium heat until just boiled
  4. Whisk 1/2 of boiled milk slowly into egg mixture to temper, then pour everything back into the pot
  5. Heat until just starting to bubble and thicken, whisking constantly
  6. Remove from heat, mix in shredded coconut, lime zest and vanilla extract, let cool
  7. Spoon coconut cream into baked tart shell, spread evenly with a spatula, dust with icing sugar 
  8. You can keep them in the fridge for 2-3 daysCoconut Cream Tarts
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Baked Coconut Sticky Rice Cake for Lunar New Year

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Lunar New Year was my favourite celebration when I was a kid in Hong Kong. I could visit and play with my cousins, get red envelopes and of course, eat lots and lots of good food ! My mom used to make all kinds of dishes and rice cakes, sweet and savoury. To be honest, I have never made them, because hers are always the best! But this year I thought…..hey, I am a baker, I should at least bake something to celebrate. Then, I remembered a recipe from my mom’s friend….Baked Coconut Sticky Rice Cake! I have modified her recipe to make it less greasy and added some shredded coconut on top. The glutinous rice flour and coconut milk should be available in any Asian market. Use the brands in the picture if you can find them, as according to the expert, aka my mom, they are better. (I am not sponsored by them, just personal preference) The cake will rise inside the oven, but then concave in a little when cooled and that’s ok. It doesn’t change the taste nor the texture of the cake. I used a round cake pan because but in Chinese, the word “round” has a meaning of being together. You can use a square pan, which probably will be easier to cut.

Wishing everyone good health and a prosperous year !

Baked Coconut Sticky Rice Cake

Makes one 8 inch round cake

  • 400 g glutinous rice flour, sifted (1 package)
  • 200 g granulated sugar
  • 5 eggs (lightly beaten)
  • 400 mL canned coconut milk (1 can)
  • 60 mL coconut oil (melted)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 45 g unsweetened shredded coconut Baked Coconut Sticky Rice Cake
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Line bottom of baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease bottom and sides
  3. In a large bowl, mix together flour and sugar
  4. Stir in eggs, coconut milk, oil and vanilla until smooth using a hand whisk
  5. Strain batter through a mesh and pour into baking pan
  6. Sprinkle shredded coconut on top
  7. Bake for about 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 325ºF and bake for another 30 minutes (toothpick should come out clean when inserted into middle)
  8. Turn heat off, leave cake in oven with door ajar for about 20 minutes
  9. Take it out, cool slightly and serve warm
  10. You can store the cake in the fridge for up to 1 week. Reheat in oven before serving. Baked Coconut Sticky Rice Cake

Pineapple Coconut Cake

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My family took a vacation to Hawaii last week. Both kids and adults had a lot of fun. We swam, snorkeled, paddled even parasailed ! To be honest, parasailing at 300 feet high was a little scary, but it was really fun ! My daughter had absolutely no fear and she just loved it ! We enjoyed the food too. There were garlic shrimps, fruits, desserts of course. Their Japanese food was also really good. Food is always the best part of my vacation ! To reminisce some of these wonderful flavours, I baked this Pineapple and Coconut Cake yesterday. I used canned pineapple as I was too lazy to chop one up, you can definitely use a fresh one.  I guess I am still in holiday mode !  🙂  

Makes one loaf (I used a 4.5″ x 8.5″ loaf pan)  

For the cake

  • 225 g cake and pastry flour 
  • 1 +1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 120 g unsalted butter, softened 
  • 120 g cup granulated sugar  
  • 2 eggs
  • 100 g canned pineapple tidbits 
  • 25 g shredded coconut 
  • 60 mL canned coconut milk 
  • 90 mL pineapple juice 
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

For the glaze

  • 150 icing sugar 
  • 45mL pineapple juice 
  • 1 tablespoon shredded coconut 
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Drain pineapples well, pat dry with paper towel and save the juice 
  3. To make the cake, sift together flour,baking power, baking soda and salt, set aside 
  4. Using an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy 
  5. Add eggs, vanilla and coconut milk 
  6. Add half of the flour mixture and pineapple juice, mix until blended
  7. Add remaining of the flour mixture
  8. Fold in pineapples and shredded coconut 
  9. Pour batter into a lightly greased and floured loaf pan
  10. Bake for about 45 minutes
  11. To make the glaze, whisk together icing sugar, pineapple juice and shredded coconut
  12. When the cake is cooled, drizzle glaze on top 

Pineapple Coconut Cake

 

Lemon Coconut Thumbprint Cookies

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Can’t believe Spring is already on its way ! The weather is warmer, Cherry Blossom trees are blooming….and my hay fever is back ! Even though my nose is a little itchy and stuffy, I can still smell these delicious cookies. They are loaded with lemon flavour ! I added some shredded coconut around the cookies for extra crunchiness. You can omit it, or use almonds or hazelnuts if you are not a coconut fan.

Total time: 90 minutes

For the lemon curd

Makes about 1/2 cup

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 50 gram unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
  1. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, water and zest
  2. Heat mixture in non-stick pot over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened (mixture should coat back of spoon)
  3. Turn heat off, mix in butter, a few pieces at a time until all melted
  4. Cool, can refrigerate up to 2 weeks

For the cookies

Makes about 20 cookies

  • 1+1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter,at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF
  2. Sift together flour and salt, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy
  4. Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla
  5. Add flour mixture in 2 portions, mix until blended
  6. Roll dough into one inch balls
  7. Gently crate an indentation in the middle of balls with thumb or tip of a wooden spoon
  8. Coat top of cookies with shredded coconut
  9. Bake for about 10 minutes, take cookies out, gently crate centres again
  10. Bake for another 7-8 minutes until golden
  11. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes, then completely on rack
  12. Spoon lemon curd into centres of cookies