Pina Coladas are about beaches with warm water in the Caribbean, bright sun, and frozen umbrella drinks. This is a dessert that will take you back there.
This dessert is complex to make and has three components. The pancakes are soft and loaded with toasted coconut and creamy coconut milk. The ice cream is smooth and delicious. Finally, the rum-caramelized pineapple brings it all together. This is a decadent dessert, but you will want seconds. I also love the temperature differences with the dessert, the warm pancake, the ice cream and the warm pineapple. They come together beautifully.
Jikoni is a new cookbook on my shelf. I bought it primarily for the Kuku Paka recipe, but it is also loaded with amazing recipes from around the world. The recipes are admittedly exotic, which also translates to being quite intense. But when the recipes turn out as well as this one, the effort is well deserved. I love the book, its flair, photography, and recipes and I will cook from it often.
For more recipes from the fabulous cookbook, click here.
Ingredients:
For the ice cream:
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 1/2 cups full-fat milk
1 1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup jaggery
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons dark rum
For the caramelized pineapple:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup jaggery or brown sugar
1 cup honey or maple syrup
1 pineapple, chunked or sliced into circles
2 tablespoons dark rum
For the pancakes:
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup desiccated coconut, lightly toasted (see below)
1/2 cup pistachios, lightly roasted
1 cup self-rising flour
Coconut oil
Desiccated coconut, lightly toasted
To make the ice cream:
Toast the coconut on a dry frying pan until lightly golden and aromatic. Remove and cool.
Add the milk, cream and jaggery to a pot and heat on a low flame. When warm, add the egg yolks in a thin stream, continually whisking the mix to incorporate the eggs into the mix. Continually whisk the milk until it thickens a bit and has the consistency of thick cream. Do not boil the custard, as the eggs will scramble. Remove from the heat, add the coconut and rum, and min well. Cover and steep for 45 minutes until cool, allowing the coconut to infuse the mix.
Strain the custard to remove most of the coconut. I would like to munch on this separately as a halwa.
Churn the ice cream in a machine on the ice cream setting. Store frozen.
To make the caramelized pineapple:
Heat the butter in a frying pan. Add the sugar and honey. Cook until the sugar has completely melted and formed a thick syrup. Add the rum and mix in.
Add the pineapple and cook for 1 minute, until it is coated in the syrup and caramelized. Cool and store until needed.
NOTE: If you are using whole pineapple rings, do this in batches to coat them evenly and prevent them from breaking.
To make the pancakes:
Mix all the ingredients for the pancakes except the coconut oil. Whisk to a smooth, thick batter.
To serve:
Heat a frying pan on medium heat. When hot, add a few drops of coconut oil. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the batter and allow it to spread out into a small pancake. Cook for 1 1/2-2 minutes until the top is very dry and the pancake is golden. Flip and cook for 1 minute. Repa\eat for the rest of the batter.
Serve the pancakes on a plate topped with ice cream, warmed caramelized pineapples, and a dusting of toasted coconut.
Comments