Book Review: You Made That Dessert?

Yesterday was the official release date for Beth's (Cookie Pie) baking book You Made That Dessert?, and I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of her online book tour! (Check out the list of other bloggers who are taking part - near the bottom of this post above the recipe.) The book is meant for people who aren't too familiar with baking and don't want to have to buy tons of fancy tools and seek out hard to find ingredients. Every recipe includes a list of required tools (in addition to the ingredients), the prep time, and cooking time. And there are lots of helpful tips throughout the recipes (as you'll see in the coconut rice pudding recipe below), as well as chapters on the tools, the ingredients, the lingo (cut in, fold), and the how-tos (whipping egg whites).

But I think this book appeals to people of all baking levels. I was pleasantly surprised to see that in addition to some staple baking recipes (brownies, gingersnaps), Beth has also included lots of other interesting ones like S'mores Bars, Salty-Sweet Caramel Nut Bars, Rosemary Biscotti, Tres Leches Cake (something I've always wanted to make!), Caramelized Banana Bread Pudding (anyone else completely drawn into food when it says caramelized?), Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie and "New Wave" Lemon Meringue Pie (where you spoon lemon curd into a cup and then put a meringue and a piece of shortbread in it - yum)!

I love the style of the book and I really think there's something to be said for style, font choices and layout of a cookbook. I love that it lists weights for the flour and sugar (as well as saying how many cups). I love all the photos! When my boyfriend saw me flipping through it he said "Ohh that's a nice cookbook". I'm okay with cookbooks that don't have any or many photos but hey I'll admit I'm a sucker for gorgeous food photos! ;) I also love the emergency dessert section.

The recipes I wanted to try out were the coconut rice pudding and the peanut butter and jelly bars. Both were easy to make and yummy! I love how the peanut butter and jelly bars look, and they of course reminded me of a peanut butter and jam sandwich. The cookie part is so yummy and soft. As for the rice pudding, I didn't used to like rice pudding actually but after having it at a local Indian restaurant, I've changed my mind. So I couldn't wait to try out this pudding with my favourite coconut as the star. And it definitely didn't disappoint. Though I think I might have cooked it a bit long because once I cooled it it was really thick. This did not at all interfere with its deliciousness though.

Ahh I'm really tired and forgot to include links to all the other bloggers who are part of this online book tour. =) Check out:

Recipe Girl for cookies and cream cheesecake bars
Culinary Concoctions by Peabody for chocolate-chocolate chip cupcakes
Cookie Baker Lynn for banana snack cake
Two Peas and Their Pod for sour cream coffee cake
The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch for cappuccino biscotti
Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy
Baking Bites

Bunny's Warm Oven for cherry clafouti

Coconut Rice Pudding
You Made That Dessert?

1 cup sweetened flake coconut
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup uncooked jasmine rice
1/3 cup (2.3 ounces) sugar
zest of 1 small lemon (Ashley note: I omitted this because I wanted pure coconut!)
2 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk (shake cans before opening them)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark rum or 1 tbsp vanilla extract (Ashley note: I went for the vanilla.)

1. Put 1/2 cup coconut in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped (or spread it on a cutting board and chop it as finely as you can with a chef's knife). In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula, for 1 minute. Stir in the chopped coconut, sugar, lemon zest, coconut milk, and salt and bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes (tiny bubbles will form along the edges and the mixture may steam a little bit, but don't let it boil).

2. Turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring often, until the pudding has thickened (it will be about the same consistency as runny oatmeal; it will firm up as it cools), about 25 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, pour the pudding into a large bowl, and stir in the rum or vanilla. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap, pressing down carefully so that the plastic lightly touches the whole surface of the pudding. Let the pudding cool for 15 minutes to serve it warm, or let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate it to serve cold.

3. While the pudding is cooling, toast the remaining coconut: Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (no need to grease the baking sheet or line it). Bake it for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until the coconut is golden brown (be careful - the coconut can get too dark very quickly if you don't stir it often and keep an eye on it). Pour the toasted coconut into a small bowl to cool.

4. Spoon the pudding into individual dessert bowls, top with toasted coconut, and serve.

Coconut Crème Brûlée

First off I want to mention Caitlin's Operation Beautiful. It's about "ending fat talk one anonymous post-it at a time" by "leaving positive messages on the mirrors of public restrooms" like "you are beautiful". How awesome is that? Check out her post to see all of the wonderful notes people have left, and some of their experiences. I want to go leave some notes around too now. I love the positive impact the blog world can have!! Okay now onto the food.

Usually I post about things in the approximate order I've made them, unless there's some particular reason to post about it sooner (like taking advantage of strawberry season, a blog event, or in this case a request from a friend). I made this coconut crème brûlée for a potluck we hosted a couple of weekends ago. Originally I wanted to make this rootbeer float cake but due to the hot weather, thought a cold dessert might be better.

This crème brûlée was rich and creamy (well okay what crème brûlé isn't?) with a hint of coconut. I'd like to try making crème brûlée (I'm getting tired of copy/pasting that!) with all coconut milk (and no cream) for even more coconut flavour next time! I can never get enough coconut. And I've been dying to make earl grey crème brûlée, but I know not everyone loves the flavour of earl grey so I haven't made that one yet. Maybe white chocolate earl grey crème brûlée, mmmm. I know some people think crème brûlée is difficult to make but it's really not. In fact it's one of the easiest desserts to make I think, provided you have some whisking skills!

And now for a photo of Abby, reaching up to get one of her new toys. I love how her little back feet look - it reminds me of puss 'n boots for some reason.

If this sounds good, you might like:
Creamy Coconut Cake
Coconut Cream Pie
Coconut Madeleines
Coconut Shortbread

Coconut Crème Brûlée
Adapted from Caprial's Desserts

I think my ramekin cups are 6 ounces so I got about 10 ramekins out of this recipe. I also found the suggested 1 tbsp of sugar on top too much so scaled it back to 1/2 tbsp.

2 1/4 cups heavy cream
400 mL can (1 3/4 cup) coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
8 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 to 1 cup superfine sugar

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Place the cream, coconut milk and vanilla in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring just to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk 1 to 1/2 cups of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture to temper it, or bring it up to the same temperature. Whisk in the remaining cream,a nd then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Skim any foam from the surface.

Divide the custard among six 8 ounce ramekins. Set the ramekins in a shallow roasting pan, and fill the pan with enough hot water to reach about haflway up the sides of the remakins. Carefully set the pan in the oven and bake just until set, about 1 hour. To tell if the custards are set, gently shake one; if it moves as one mass, it is done. Remove the ramekins from the water bath. let cool until tepid, the refrigerate until well chilled, about 4 hours (overnight is even better if you have time).

To serve, sprinkle each custard with 1/2 tbsp of superfine sugar. Using a propane torch (or th ebroiler), caramelized the sugar. Serve immediately.

Creamy Coconut Cake

Coconut is one of my favourite foods/flavours yet I've never made an all out coconut cake until this one. Coconut cake filled with coconut custard cream and iced with coconut buttercream, and topped with more coconut. Mmm coconut. I know it seems like there are a lot of components, but the cream filling and buttercream are made with the coconut custard so it's not as much work as it seems. Or maybe I was just in coconut bliss so I didn't notice.

This cake is definitely a continuation of my love affair with Tish Boyle's The Cake Book. I think I want to make literally every cake in it. I made this cake for Christmas Eve dessert hence the snowman plate (and an indication of my back log of things to post about!)

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake
Matcha Coconut Madeleines
Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Coconut Cream Pie

Creamy Coconut Cake
Adapted from The Cake Book

I'll write out the original recipe but I halved it and made a 4 layer 5 inch round cake. I also omitted the 1 tbsp Malibu coconut rum (or dark rum) meant to go in the custard, and I didn't use the rum soaking syrup which was meant to be spread on every cake layer before the custard.

Makes one 9 inch cake, serving 12 to 16.

Coconut Cake Layers
Coconut Custard
Coconut Cream Filling
Coconut Buttercream

Coconut Cake Layers
3 1/4 cups (325 g) sifted cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 large egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup whole milk
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans. Dust the pans with flour.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.

3. Mix the coconut milk and milk. Set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar and beat at high speed until light, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla extract. If you have a splatter shield for yourm ixer, attach it now (the milk tends to splash as you add it). Add the flour mixture at low speed in three additions, alternating with the milk/coconut milk mixture into two additions and mixing just until the flour is incorporated. Fold in the sweetened flaked coconut.

5. Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes.

6. Invert the layers onto the racks and cool upside down completely.

Coconut Custard
1 1/2 cups (360 mL) whole milk, or as needed
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup (66 g) granulated sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine the milk and coconut in a medium saucepan, and heat over medium heat until the milk is just under a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to steep for 1 hour.

2. Strain the milk through a sieve, pressing down on the coconut with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Measure the milk; you should have 1 1/3 cups. If you have less, add a little more milk to make up the difference.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, sugar and cornstarch; set aside.

4. Return the coconut-infused milk to the saucepan and bring it to a gentle boil. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk about 1/3 cup of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan, place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula, and whisk until smooth. Quickly strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Whisk in the vanilla extract.

5. Set the bowl containing the coconut mixture in a larger bowl filled about one-third of the way with ice water (be careful that the water doesn't splash into the coconut mixture). Stir the custard frequently until it is slightly chilled, about 15 minutes.

Coconut Cream Filling
3/4 cup Coconut Custard (see above)
3/4 cup (180 mL) heavy cream

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the 3/4 cup coconut custard with the heavy cream at high speed until the mixture is light and forms soft peaks. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Coconut Buttercream
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup Coconut Custard (see above)
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

1. In a clean mixer bowl, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar at high speed until very light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the 3/4 cup coconut custard, vanilla extract, and salt and beat at medium speed until blended and smooth.

Assemble the Cake
1 cup shredded coconut

1. Using a long serrated knife, trim off the domed tops of the cakes so that they are even. Cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Reserve one of the flat bottom layers for the top of the cake. Place another cake layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or flat serving plate. Spoon one-third of the filling onto the cake and, using a small offset metal spatula, spread it into an even layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge of the cake. Top with another cake layer. Top with another one-third of the filling. Repeat with another layer and the remaining filling. Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake.

2. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the buttercream. Pat the coconut onto the sides of the cake.

Chocolate Pudding

In an effort to make this picture more exciting, I included my lovely cat gargoyle.

Usually I try to have a balance of things in my blog - unhealthy delicious baked goods, healthy baked goods, meals and the occasional dip or something. But recently all I seem to be posting about is baked goods! Not because I eat cookies and pudding for dinner but because my dinners haven't been that exciting and worth posting about. But no one can deny the excitement of baked goods, right?

Actually I'm not a huge pudding fan but my boyfriend is so I made this for him and he quite loved it. I've also made Dorie's chocolate pots de creme, and I think I prefer those. I'm not sure why I prefer it though - maybe because it's more custard like or something. I think there's a fine line between pots de creme and pudding. But both are delicious. And though this chocolate pudding recipe was very smooth and chocolatey, I will look for another recipe that's less of a pain to make and doesn't involve a food processor. Though I guess I could just make this recipe and omit the food processor.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Intense Chocolate Fudge Cookies
Coconut Cream Pie
Raspberry and White Chocolate Pie
Chocolate Cookie Bark

Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours

2 1/4 cups whole milk
6 tbsp sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped, melted and still warm
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

Have six ramekins or pudding cups, each holding 4 to 6 ounces (1/2 to 3/4 cup) at hand.

Bring 2 cups of the milk and 3 tablespoons of sugar to a boil in a medium pot.

While the milk is heating, put the cocoa, cornstarch and salt into a food processor and whir to blend. Dump it into a bowl. Put the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, the egg and egg yolks into the processor and blend for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup milk and pulse just to mix, then add the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to blend.

With the machine running, very slowly pour in the hot milk mixture. Process for a few seconds, then put everything back into the saucepan. Whisk without stopping over medium heat - making sure to get the edges of the pan - until the pudding thickens and a couple of bubbles burble up to the surface and pop (about 2 minutes but it might be shorter - take it off when it starts to seem thick). Lower the heat if necessary to prevent boiling.

Scrape the pudding back into the processor (if there's a scorched spot, avoid it as you scrape) and pulse a couple of times. Add the chocolate, butter and vanilla and pulse until everything is blended.

Pour the pudding into the ramekins. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

TWD: The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

Another delicious week participating in the Tuesdays with Dorie challenge! This week was a lemon tart and particularly a lemon tart that I've had my eye on for a while. I'm going to try and keep this short since I'm a bit bogged down with school right now.

I halved the lemon cream (but forgot to half the butter the first time, resulting in a very hard and for some reason iron-tasting "cream" so had to remake it), but didn't half the tart dough. I now have a couple of extra little tarts waiting in the freezer, hoping that someone picks another tart soon. I absolutely loved the tart shell itself - it was like a cookie. And it was the easiest tart I've made, which is great for my rolling dough out fear. All you do is press the crumbly "dough" into the tart pans and out come these wonderful delicious tarts. I will definitely be using this tart dough recipe again. (Oh and I finally got the chance to use these cute tartlet pans!)

As for the lemon cream, I didn't love it. It was beautiful and it had a great texture. And certainly it was good, but it just wasn't my favourite thing. Other people liked it, and I think it's the perfect thing to make for a lemon lover.

Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers to see their lemon tarts! Edit: I forgot to mention that Mary from Staring From Scratch chose the recipe this week.

Other TWD challenges I've done:
Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie-Cake
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Orange Berry Muffins

The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 c fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tbsp butter (10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon size pieces, at room temperature
1 9-inch tart shell made with sweet tart dough, fully baked (see below)

Getting ready:
Have a instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender or food processor ready. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Put the sugar and zest in a large metal bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy, and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture fees tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk- you whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling- you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point- the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience- depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp may take as long as 10 minutes.

As soon as it reaches 180F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the lender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Turn the blender to high (or turn on the processor) and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going- to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to bend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests, and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

Pour the cream into a container, cover tightly and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. (The cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days or, tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.)

When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.

Sweet Tart Dough
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioner’s sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in - you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each - until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change - heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don’t be too heavy-handed - press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375F.

Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. For a partially baked crust, patch the crust if necessary, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack (keep it in its pan).

To Fully Bake the Crust: Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

To Patch a Partially or Fully Baked Crust, if Necessary: If there are any cracks in the baked crust, patch them with some of the reserved raw dough as soon as you remove the foil. Slice of a thin piece of the dough, place it over the crack, moisten the edges and very gently smooth the edges into the baked crust. If the tart will not be baked again with its filling, baking for another 2 minutes or so, just to take the rawness off the patch.

Chocolate Pots de Crème

Ever since I started my food blog here, and perhaps before, I've wanted to take part in the blog event Sugar High Fridays. This month it's being hosted by 1x umrühren bitte with a pudding theme. It's taken about 6 months for me to actually participate! Either because I miss the submission deadline, or didn't know what to make for the theme. Not this time - I planned ahead. And with the theme of pudding it was made pretty easy for me. Plus I had an excuse to pick up these 2 cute ramekins that I saw when I was shopping for ingredients.

I was thinking of making butterscotch pudding or caramel pots de crème, but then decided on chocolate pots de crème from the ever amazing Baking From My Home To Yours. I've never had or made pots de crème and was very intrigued. They're basically a baked custard pudding thing, and basically delicious. Extremely delicious.

The texture was smooth and creamy. I though it was the perfect sweetness, with a real but mellow chocolate flavour. My boyfriend thought it should have been sweeter though. A bit of a crust formed on the top, not hard at all but more ganache-like. I was pleasantly surprised at how good they tasted using Baker's chocolate. I tried them both warm and cold, and they're good both ways but I prefer them warm. I'll definitely be making these again.

The one thing I'm wondering about though is how Dorie suggests after putting the ramekins in to a water bath, covering the entire thing with plastic wrap. I did this, but by the end the plastic wrap had shrunk away, leaving the ramekins mostly uncovered. Hopefully it didn't melt and fall into the pots de crème. Anyway, does anyone know the story behind this? Did I do something wrong with the plastic wrap? Do I really need it? Also, I ended up cooking one not in a water bath and while it tasted good still, I think the egg cooked a bit on the bottom.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and all that! :)

Chocolate Pots de Crème
Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours (Dorie Greenspan)

Makes 8 servings

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 large egg
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 300F. Line a large roasting pan with a double thickness of paper towels, then put eight 4-ounce (1/2 cup) custard cups or ramekins in the pan. Boil some water.

Put the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to a boil. When the cream is just at a boil, pour it over the chocolate and wait for a minute. Using a rubber spatula and starting in the center of the bowl, gently stir the cream and chocolate until the ganache is smooth; set aside.

Stir the remaining 1 cup cream and the milk together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large glass measuring cup or bowl, whisk the egg, yolks, sugar and salt together until pale and slightly thickened. Still whisking, drizzle in a little of the hot liquid - this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remaining liquid. Finally, slowly whisk the egg mixture into the ganache, stirring gently to incorporate.

With a spoon, skim the foam off the top of the custard, then pour the custard into the cups. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups.

Bake the custards for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the tops darken and the custards jiggle a little only in the center when tapped or lightly shaken.

Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Allow the custards to rest in their warm bath for 10 minutes, then peel off the plastic wrap and transfer the cups from the water to the cooling rack. Refrigerate when they reach room temperature. When the pots de creme and cool, cover them tightly with plastic wrap or their little lids.

Coconut Cream Pie

For my birthday this year I decided to make a coconut cream pie. I was extremely looking forward to making my own birthday cake (originally I was looking for a cake recipe) since it meant I would have a great excuse to make something elaborate, only myself to please and I wouldn't feel bad eating a bunch of it. I was tempted by a brownie mosaic cheesecake on Smitten Kitchen that looked challenging and delicious, and an eight-layer chocolate peanut butter cake in Saveur. But I wasn't able to find a cake that really appealed to me (a sign that I need more baking books!) I knew I always wanted to make this coconut cream pie so I thought why bother searching for a random cake recipe - I should just make something I've wanted to make for years even if it's not as complicated as some of the cakes out there.

I saw Martha Stewart make this pie on some TV show I can't remember now. This was years ago, but I always remembered it. Probably because she puts this thin layer of chocolate on top of the crust before putting in the coconut custard. Mmm hidden chocolate layer. You might think it's a good idea to add extra chocolate and make the layer thicker (the more chocolate the better right?) Well I do not recommend it, as this is what I did. It made the crust really difficult to cut through. I was not at all thinking about how hard chocolate gets when it's sitting in the fridge. Ah well, it was delicious even though it was hard to bite through!

I don't think I heated the custard long enough because it wasn't very thick. I got really tired of waiting for little bubbles to come up, while also trying to avoid it boiling and burning. This was after I did something incredibly stupid that I don't even know why I did - I heated up an empty pot at medium-high heat on the stove, then poured the custard into it. WHY?? Why did I do this. I really have no idea since I know that it was not something I should've done. Thankfully only a little bit of the egg cooked and I was able to salvage most of it. The coconut custard had an interesting light but definite coconut flavour, versus other coconut cream pies I've tried which have a stronger and sweeter coconut taste. My mom described this pie as "fluff", which I know custard is not supposed to be but hey we all liked it.

I'm still a little bit scared of making crusts, but this one turned out well so my crust making confidence can increase! I made a full recipe and only needed half so I have the other half sitting in my freezer. Not sure what I should do with it but I would hate to throw it away. Maybe the earl grey white chocolate cream pie I created in my head?

I was really happy with how the coconut cream pie turned out and I would definitely make it again. All of the components were delicious and the chocolate layer added something extra (though next time it will be a much thinner layer of course).

Coconut Cream Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

makes one 9-inch pie

all-purpose flour, for dusting
1/2 recipe pâte brisée (recipe follows)
4 large egg yolks
3 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
chocolate curls*
coconut curls or shredded coconut, toasted**

1. Preheat oven to 375F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch round, a bit less than 1/4 inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim crust to a 1/2-inch overhang all around. Fold under overhang so it extends slightly beyond edge of pie plate. Crimp edge. Prick dough all over with a fork. Chill pie shell until firm, about 30 minutes.

2. Line chilled pie shell with a round of parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges of crust just turn golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights. Return crust to oven, and continue baking until golden all over 15 to 20 minutes more. Place pie shell on a wire rack to cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

3. Place coconut curls (or shredded coconut) on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, tossing occasionally, until fragrant and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. (Watch closely.) Set aside.

4. Prepare an ice bath; set aside. In a bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks; set aside. In a saucepan, whisk together coconut milk, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a simmer (do not boil), and cook, whisking constantly, 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Whisk a quarter of hot-milk mixture into egg yolks; whisk in remaining milk mixture. Strain into a clean saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until custard is thick and bubbles appear in center, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Set in ice bath until completely chilled, 30 to 35 minutes. (Filling can be kept in refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, up to 1 day.)

6. Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (do not let bowl touch the water), or in the microwave. Stir until smooth, and set aside until cool to touch, stirring occasionally.

7. Using a pastry brush, coat inside of cooled crust with melted chocolate. Place in refrigerator or freezer until firm to touch, about 10 minutes

8. Fill crust with coconut custard, spreading evenly with an offset spatula. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine cream and confectioners’ sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Using a small offset spatula, spread whipped cream on top of custard. Refrigerate pie at least 3 hours before serving. Garnish with toasted coconut curls and chocolate curls just before serving.

*Take a block/bar of chocolate and use a vegetable peeler to scrape off curls. I didn't heat the chocolate up at all beforehand but I think it helps to heat it up a tiny bit. Not enough so that it melts though, of course.

Pâte Brisée
Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

makes enough for one double-crust or two single-crust 9-inch pies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender.)

2. With machine running, add ice water through feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

3. Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.