Kitchen Therapy

Tag Archives: coconut


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Chocolate Coconut Tart

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe comes from Baking Chez Moi.
The tart shell is made, fully cooked, cooled and then filled with a coconut pastry cream and topped with a silky smooth layer of chocolate ganache.
I love that Dorie Greenspan includes tips about storing and making things ahead.
One day I made the pastry case and froze it in the tin. I also made the coconut pastry cream and stored it in an air tight container in the fridge.
The next day I just baked the pastry shell and once it cooled I filled it with the pastry cream and topped it with the ganache. The steps were simple to do, however there was time needed for things to cool and rest, so doing it over two days made it feel leisurely!

It’s also really hot and humid here in Sydney. I look out over to the ocean and most days there is a fog over the water. (In the photo the ocean is mean to be where the fog is!) Some days you cannot see the water as you’re walking along the shoreline! I’m not sure if it’s living close to the ocean but the house feels wet. The clothes feel like they’re not dry, the furniture feels damp and the floors feel like they’ve just been mopped. The salt is coming out of the grinder in wet clumps instead of light flakes. I tried making a gelatine for Christmas and the powder I used would not set. The moisture has been terrible! I was happy to see that this tart turned out so good! And straight out of the refrigerator is a wonderful cold treat!

When I read Dorie’s inspiration for this tart I immediately thought of bounty chocolate bars which I love! I love all things coconut!
I enjoyed the tart however I found the coconut taste too delicate for the chocolate topping, and I’m not that keen on chocolate. I think to make it perfect for me I would need double the amount of coconut filling 🙂

Looking forward to reading what the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie group thought of their recipes for the week!

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Flour Free Banana and Coconut Pancakes

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Along with Banana Bread, I went through a phase where I tried many Banana Pancakes of the healthy variety. These were my favourite. I make them often because they are gluten free and nut free. The ingredients are few and the recipe from the The Green Kitchen Cookbook is simple and can be found easily on the internet or you can see it below. I’m keeping this post simple because everything about this dish is quick and easy. Best of all they are delicious!

FLOUR FREE BANANA & COCONUT PANCAKES
adapted from THE GREEN KITCHEN Cookbook by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl

3 ripe bananas
6 eggs lightly beaten
50g or 1/2 cup desiccated coconut, plus extra for sprinkling
150g or 1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon coconut oil for frying
maple syrup or yoghurt for topping

1. Mash the bananas with a fork.
2. Place in a medium sized bowl and whisk together with the eggs and coconut.
3. Add the blueberries and stir well.
4. Heat the coconut oil in a non stick frying pan over medium heat.
5. Add 2-3 tablespoons of batter for each pancake.
6. Use a spatula to carefully flip the pancakes when they have set and the bottom is golden (roughly 2 minutes).
7. Serve with extra blueberries, maple syrup, yogurt and an extra sprinkle of coconut.


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Coconut Friands

Over here in Sydney, Australia, the school year starts at the end of January and after every 10 weeks of school the kids are given two weeks of holidays.
Except for Christmas when they get 6 weeks off.

We’ve completed Term 1 and are just winding up 2 weeks of holiday chaos fun!

Now I love and adore coconut.
I knew between trips to the movies, putt putt golf, sleepovers and full days of laser skirmish I was going to get this recipe done and posted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has coconut after all! (And it is one of the simplest recipes I have come across!)
I find it hard to make time to accomplish the basics, like grocery shopping, with so many activities and kids staying over.
But I was not going to miss this!

I made it in plenty of time! And then the next two days we left the house pretty much straight after breakfast and returned at night time!
So all my ideas of pretty photos flew out the window!
I even bought a pretty friand tin… it made a pattern!!!
But the photo taken with my iphone late at night just doesn’t do it any justice!

I wanted to run away! Skip posting for the week.
Like I did with the Cocoa Sables.
That week the kids had so many school band commitments and performances that, while I made both the Cocoa and Butter Sables, I didn’t get around to posting anything!

I did the same with the Salmon Rillettes.
I like Sardines! And I loved this recipe!
However amidst the Easter and school holiday madness, we decided to go to Melbourne for a 3 day weekend the day this post was due. So I skipped it.

But you know what?
I don’t like how I feel when I miss a week of posting!

I’ve come to understand that completing the recipes each week with the French Fridays with Dorie group gives me a sense of achievement and accomplishment!
It makes me feel goooood!

So while I’ve been cooking most weeks, it’s not  as satisfying as engaging in the entire process of cooking, posting and then sharing this with the rest of the group!

Who knew this would become such a fun and filling part of my life!