Coconut Cream Pie Parfaits

Over the weekend, we headed into Chicago and wanted to make something that was easy and portable to take along for a picnic.  We've been going sans dessert for awhile and wanted something sweet to satiate our deprived taste buds and settled on making a Coconut Cream Pie.  I was running late and wanted to speed up the process, so I nixed making a pie and opted to do it in a parfait style dessert instead, placing layers of  graham cracker crust, coconut cream and whipped cream into mason jars (which as of late, I have a slight, unhealthy obsession with).

Well they worked out fabulously!  The coconut cream was smooth and creamy and I opted to use real whipped cream over whipped topping. I used a graham cracker crust the first time I made this, but it's really optional (photos posted are sans crust) and you could easily substitute sugar or chocolate cookies in it's place.  Next time, I'll make a mental note to freeze the desserts beforehand so they also double as ice packs for the rest of our picnic food (I prefer creme pies in a semi-frozen state anyway!).  It's also nice to have on hand when unexpected company pops in or for those times you crave something sweet.  By all means if you want to bypass the humble, but charming mason jar you can also use a footed dessert dish or up the ante with a martini glass. 

Either way, it's a fun, nostalgic treat!

Coconut Cream Pie Parfaits (adapted from here):

For graham cracker crust:

3-4 graham cracker- large rectangles, crushed
2 t. sugar
2 T butter, melted

For coconut cream:

3 cups heavy whipping cream

2 eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or 1/3 c. corn starch)

1 can of creme of coconut

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup flaked coconut, toasted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 t. vanilla

1-2 t. sugar to sweeten




{coconut cream, whipped cream and toasted coconut}


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Cover a baking pan in foil and add coconut. Toast for about 5 minutes, stirring occassionally.

For the coconut cream, add flour or cornstarch, sugar and salt in a medium sized saucepan.  Whisk in cream slowly.  Add the creme of coconut, followed by the eggs.  Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly (about 15-20 minutes).  Remove from the heat and add 3/4 cups of the coconut and the vanilla extract.  Chill in the fridge for about 2 hours.

To make the whipped cream:  Use a mixer or hand immersion blender to whip the cream.  When it starts to set, slowly sprinkle the sugar and vanilla extract into the mix. Continue to whip until thick and fluffy. 

Spoon in a few teaspoons of graham cracker crust mix to the bottom of your jar or glass. Next layer 2 teaspoons of the coconut cream, whipped cream and top with a sprinkling of toasted coconut.  Continue layering if you like!  Top with a final dollop of whipped cream and a generous sprinkling of toasted coconut. 

Posted by Dawn.

Spice Cake and Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce.

Hi! I'm Elena and I'm Dawn's daughter.  I really like to cook and it's one of my favorite hobbies.  My favorite things to make are pesto, curries, and other vegetarian dishes. My signature dish is Pumpkin Soup.

 I got this cookbook as a present from my Grandma and Grandpa. It was my Grandpa's mom's and her name was Elizabeth.This is one of my favorite recipes out of this cookbook. I've found a lot of really interesting recipes in there, like Sea Foam Candy. The Spice Cake looked really interesting so I was like "What the heck? Why not try this one?"

Here is my Great-Grandma Elizabeth, my Grandpa {he's the smallest one} and his brothers.

My Great-Great Grandma gave it to my Great-Grandma. This book was used a lot! It's so cool because it was put together in the 1950's.

Here's the recipe:

Spice Cake

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup shortening (I used butter)

3 eggs- beaten

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 scant teaspoon cloves

sprinkle of nutmeg

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour milk (buttermilk works)

nuts

Can you believe that they're weren't any directions? I mixed the ingredients in order it was listed. Grease an 8 inch circle pan + bake the cake at the standard 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes. I checked the cake about 20 minutes in. You should be good!

- Recipe from Mrs. Clifford Blix

Luisa gave us some Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce from 'Trader Jacques'.  It was really creamy and sweet.

Here's another recipe for caramel sauce if you want it to go with the cake.  It came from my Great-Grandma's cookbook too:

Caramel sauce

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons corn syrup (you can substitute golden syrup)

1/4 cup rich milk

1/2 teaspoon salt (or fleur de sel)

1/2 cup of butter

Boil about 8 minutes.  Stir.  Do not overcook. 

-Recipe from Mrs R.A. Gundersen

The cake wasn't heavy and it wasn't light. It was right in between.  The cake also wasn't too sweet. It was just right in my opinion! I would so make it again!

Well, I hope you really like the recipe!

Please let me know if you make the cake~

Ciao!

Banana Coffee Smoothie.

Last week, we made numerous batches of this yummy treat for breakfast, to go with dinner + for dessert.  Apparently we couldn't get enough because we recently restocked our banana-coffee smoothie arsenal to create a couple more batches this week.  Even my son Fordy surprised me (he's not a huge coffee fan), but he gulped this down with nary a complaining word + even asked for more.

It's extremely easy to whip up on busy mornings~ usually my kiddos aren't very hungry when the school bus comes at an ungodly hour in the morning + would rather drink their breakfast.  This summer it's been our go-to, effortless + light breakfast when the humidity is already climbing.

I bet you even have most of the ingredients on hand:

Coffee Banana Smoothie Recipe:

2 c. vanilla yogurt

1 c. strong coffee, cold

splash of milk

1-2 bananas (we say the more the merrier), frozen

1/3 c. melted chocolate or chocolate syrup

2 t. sugar (honey or agave syrup), optional

Throw everything in your blender + give it a whirl. Top with whip cream if you're feeling decadent!

  Makes 2 servings.

We also have swapped out the yogurt with vanilla ice cream {you could also use coffee ice cream in lieu of vanilla + replace the cold coffee with milk if you want a more subtle coffee flavor} to make an equally delicious milkshake. You can also add a few teaspoons (or more to your liking) of espresso powder in a pinch if you don't want to brew a carafe of coffee. I should also mention that chocolholics abound around here + it seemed only fitting to add more chocolate to the smoothie. That's the beauty of smoothies, anything goes!

{Warning: Approach with caution... They're pretty addictive!}

Posted by Dawn.