Flirting with Food: Cocos Nucifera, a Taste of Tropical Paradise

Coconut palm
Cocos nucifera

The coconut reminds me of home. If I were to write a menu that represents me, it would involve the coconut. If I were to create a dish to represent the Philippines, it would be flavoured with coconut. Canadian winter makes me nostalgic, so I cook food that brings me back to a tropical paradise.

The Philippines is the world's largest producer of coconuts, the production of coconuts plays an important role in the economy. The Coconut Tree is called "The Tree of Life" because of the endless list of products and by-products derived from its various parts. The entire tree has useful applications: the nut itself can be eaten,drunk, used as a drinking vessel, carved into ornaments, pressed for oil, scraped for cream,and used as fire fuel; coconut husks are used as coir for ropes and mats, and sennit for twine; coconut palm leaves are used as roof thatch and woven into baskets; the trunk of the tree is used in construction; sap from the palm is fermented and made into palm wine; juice from leaf stems is used to obtain palm sugar.

I created a cake recipe inspired by coconut. I couldn't get fresh coconut at the time, but even if I could it will not exactly taste the same as when it was freshly harvested from our backyard. Nonetheless, this recipe has dessicated coconut, coconut milk and cream, sweetened coconut strings and coconut jam.

Coconut Mousse Cake

1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup of water or coconut milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups All Purpose flour
3/4 cup dessicated coconut, unsweetened
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsps. baking powder
2 tsps. ginger powder

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter two - 9" layer cake pans.
Beat eggs and sugar until ribbon stage. Add the oil in a steady stream to create an emulsion. Add the vanilla and mix well.
Mix all dry ingredients together and add to the egg mixture alternating with the water or coconut milk. starting with the flour mixture and ending with the flour mixture. do not over beat.
Pour into prepared pans and bake for about 35 minutes or until the top is slightly brown.

Note: This cake is good as is or with whipped cream. If you are feeling adventurous, you can make a white coconut mousse.

Coconut Mousse

1 jar of Macapuno string
1/2 cup of coconut milk
2 egg yolks
3 sheets of gelatin, bloomed
3/4 cup of 35% cream

Method:

In a blender, puree the coconut strings with the coconut milk until smooth. Pass trough a strainer.
Heat half of the coconut mixture, and bring to a boil.

Beat the egg yolks and temper with the hot coconut mixture. Return to the pan and cooked until thick just like making creme Anglaise. Add the bloomed gelatin, mix until it is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool down then add the rest of the coconut mixture. This is a coconut custard.

Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold it in the coconut custard. This is the coconut mousse. Chill for about 15 minutes before filling the cakes.

Coconut Jam Syrup

1/2 cup of coconut jam, this is like dulce de leche but made with coconut cream
1/2 cup of water
1 tbsp. rum

Mix all the ingredients in a small sauce pan. Heat up until the mixture comes to a boil. Simmer for about 2 minutes and then st aside to cool down.

Toasted Dessicated Coconut
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup dessicated coconut

Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat, add the dessicated coconut and toast until golden brown while stirring with a wooden spoon.

Assembly:

Split the cakes into two, so you will have 4 layers.
Brush each layer with the coconut jam syrup.

Use a spring form cake pan lined with a cake board. If you do not have a spring form pan, use the 9" cake pan lined with cling film or aluminum foil. Depending on the height of your pan, you can either make 1 cake with four layers or 2 cakes with two layers.
Pour enough coconut mousse to cover each layer of cake.