Thursday, November 4, 2010

Coconut-Cinnamon Pudding and The Next Destination



**Post Factum:** 
This is one of a series of posts for Vegan MoFo 2010; my theme was a 'Virtual Random Road Trip', where I used random.org's random geographic location generator to select locations around the globe, I then attempted to cook a few dishes from the traditional cuisine of that place. I didn't have a lot of time between generating the locations and coming up with recipes (~ 1 day). So, lacking time to do proper research, I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I came up with. However, they are what they are, and it was a fun theme. 

For my last post on Bolivia, I thought a dessert might be appropriate. In choosing a recipe, I was going back and forth between a couple of options billed as traditional Bolivian desserts. One of them was cocadas, which are coconut candies made with condensed milk and eggs. Not versed in vegan candy making, I balked at trying to veganize that...it might be easy, but I wasn't sure. I was also extremely tempted by a cinnamon sorbet ( helado de canela), which was vegan from the get-go.

In the end, I decided on a coconut pudding, lightly flavored with cinnamon. I'm not sure whether this is considered specifically a traditional dessert, but I found it on a Bolivian recipes site, so I assume it's a fairly popular dessert at any rate.

I made the pudding this morning before work, and let me tell you, I'm not particularly fond of sweet things in the morning, nor do I have a big sweet tooth in general, but this is sooo good. I ate some for breakfast!


You can find the full recipe at the bottom of the post.

The next item on the agenda is the next road trip destination. So, courtesy of Random.org:

Florida!

...well, off the coast of Florida. I think I mentioned before that 60-70% of the randomly generated locations end up being in the ocean...this was one of them, but it was pretty close to land, so why not choose the closest shore? I've decided to abandon the road for this stop and travel aboard a MoFo yacht for a while. We'll be sailing in a southerly direction, me thinks. This should be a nice way to spend the weekend.

Coconut-Cinnamon Pudding (4 Small or 2 Generous Servings)


I halved the original recipe (which you can find here) and veganized it by using coconut milk beverage instead of dairy milk. The original recipe calls for cloves in addition to the cinnamon, but I was out, so omitted them. I also reduced the amount of sugar by half.

I recommend using unsweetened coconut milk beverage...the drinkable kind,  not the heavy tinned kind.

2 and 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk beverage, like the So Delicious variety or similar
1.5 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sugar or 1/3 agave syrup
4-inch piece of cinnamon bark
1/4 cup corn starch, mixed until smooth with 2 to 2.5 tablespoons water

Combine 2 cups of the coconut milk with the shredded coconut and the cinnamon in a pot and bring slowly to a boil, stirring frequently. When the mixture comes to a boil, add the sugar (or agave), reduce heat to low/med-low and allow to cook gently for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

After the sweetened mixture has cooked for 10 minutes, remove from heat and strain to remove the shredded coconut and the cinnamon. (Alternately, you could puree the coconut shreds into the milk with a blender.)

Return the strained milk to the pot, add in the remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk and the cornstarch/water mixture. Cook over medium-high, stirring constantly, until the mixture is quite thick and viscous. Remove from heat, and allow to cool completely. 

Once cooled, you can chill it in the fridge until serving, or serve at room temperature. Garnish with toasted coconut and powdered cinnamon. 

Post scriptum:  Depending on how much you allow it to thicken, it will get pretty solid as it cools and sets up. Mine became like a molded piece of pudding or similar, so to "break" the mold and get a creamy texture, I put it in a bowl and whisked it for a good minute or two...the mold-like mass then becomes more soft and creamy.



Back tomorrow with an appropriate comestible.

Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Tobin

26 comments:

  1. Hey Rose, if you DID use coconut in a can, maybe it would just shorten the amount of time you would need to reduce it on the stove??...or maybe you could thin the canned coconut milk with a little water to make it into the 2 1/4 cups?

    lol i have an opened can in the fridge right now:) can you tell i wanna go make this???:)

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  2. What a great looking dessert, and you're right - the perfect way to conclude this leg of the trip. Normally I don't like pudding or sweet things, but even your spoon coming off the screen towards me looks inviting. I think you chose the right dessert to make.

    I'm excited about Miami!

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  3. Michelle,

    Yes, I think that would totally work...the thinning with water idea... That's a really good idea. If you make it, let me know how it turns out. :)

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  4. Did you say purée the coconut shreds into the milk with a blender? Well, I could do that! The pudding looks so creamy and light — do you think it would work in a mini-tart with a pre-baked shell?

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  5. Andrea.

    I was totally thinking of you when I mentioned that. :)

    Yes, I think it would definitely work in a tart shell...it's the consistency of custard...probably a little more solid, depending on how much you let it thicken.

    After it set up in the fridge, it was sort of like one solid, but soft mass. I just gave it a real good stir about with a whisk for a minute or so, to break up the mass and it morphed into a creamier texture...if that makes sense. I was unsure of what it would be like with the corn starch, but it turned into a nice coconut cream and it's not too sweet.

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  6. Jessica,

    Thanks! You just gave me a good idea, we'll have to make a stop in Miami for sure! :)

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  7. Rose, this looks so good. I don't even usually eat desserts, but this is something I would definitely make. Plus, again, what a great, original, theme!

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  8. I am adding coconut products to my grocery list for tomorrow.

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  9. That's a nice recipe, bookmarked for future use. The Bolivian site is fun too.

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  10. What an excellent way to end your road trip to Bolivia. I still love sweets, and my husband is going to go crazy over this! He loves pudding and coconut is his fav! It looks so delish! I will have to try this out this weekend. :o)

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  11. Unlike Tony, Mr. SV hates coconut, so I would have to eat this pudding all by myself. It really looks fantastic.

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  12. Everyone

    Thanks for all your cool and thoughtful comments.

    For anyone who makes it, please let me know how it turned out...I'd love to see your versions too!

    Happy Weekend!!

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  13. Note to anyone who does end up making this:


    Depending on how much you allow it to thicken, it will get pretty solid as it cools and sets up. Mine became like a molded peice of pudding or similar, so to "break" the mold and get a creamy texture, I put it in a bowl and whisked it for a good 1-2 minutes...the mold-like mass then becomes more soft and creamy.

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  14. Wow! This looks so good, I want to put that spoon in my mouth! Thank you for sharing the recipe. I cannot wait to try this. So Delicious coconut milk is the best thing that ever happened to making dessert.

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  15. This looks sensational, Rose! Thanks for adding the bit about whisking it to make it more creamy, too. And I agree with Helen. I've been cooking and baking with So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverages, Creamer, and yogurt and getting delectable results every time. Their kefir (now called "cultured coconut milk"), makes a great dairy-free substitute for buttermilk.)

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  16. Helen and Vegiegail

    Thanks for stopping by. I've bought the So Delicious yogurt many times before, but this was the first time I've used the So Delicious coco milk, I really like it too. :)

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  17. I am certainly trying this one, I'm crazy for coconut! I will email you soon regarding the swap, thanks.

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  18. Hey, Rose! BW and I actually looked at this post together last night (but I didn't get a chance to leave a comment at the time), and he immediately MADE me save it in my recipes folder. Not that I took much convincing. At all. ;-) He went nutso for this right away. I've not seen any So Delicious products around here except their vegan ice cream, so I'm hoping I can find a comparable coconut milk. Though our temps are supposed to drop 20-30º next week, BW will be on vacation and this would be a fun dessert to make for him then. I mean for us, because I certainly don't intend to be left out! (I adore coconut!)

    And I agree, dessert is a sweet note on which to end this Bolivia adventure! Florida next, that should be fun!

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  19. Jennifer

    Sounds good! Have a good weekend.

    Laurie

    Laurie,

    If you can't find the coconut milk beverage, you could probably use DD's idea and just add water to canned coconut to make the 2 1/4 cups worth. I hope you like it if you make it! Depending on how much you let it thicken, you'll probably have to give it a really good whisking after it sets up, to undo the single solid molded piece that it will have formed.

    BW must be in party mood tonight: I know I always am on a Friday before a week of vacation. Temps in your neck of the woods are starting to get a little more wintery...good eating weather!

    Have a fun weekend!!! xoxo

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  20. Oh my goodness, my boyfriend would flip for this one! He loves coconut and pudding..put them together and I think he would die. Will def make this next week. Thank you for sharing!

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  21. If you use canned coconut milk you don't have to thicken with cornstarch (nasty grain). Why throw away the coconut? I cook cubed apples in the (full fat)coconut milk, then puree, sugar avoided. Or try other fruit instead of processed sugar.

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  22. Jacklyn

    I hope you like it! Let me know how it turns out.

    Anonymous

    Thanks for the suggestions. I like the idea of the apples cooked in the coconut milk...I'll have to give that a try.

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  23. ... the So Delicious creamer is fabulous for coffee. Was using the milk and one day tried the creamer and it is like night and day. Trying the pudding tomorrow.

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  24. mmmmm... coconut pudding! I want that for breakfast!

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