The LOST finale cake, a.k.a flavors of the island (coconut and mango)

Ladies and gentleman, my LOST finale cake. Yes I did it. I'm nerdy and geeky. I couldn't resist doing something special for the finale of this show that's been keeping me breathless for days, weeks, months and years.

This cake though, is dedicated to my friend Dani. He's a big fan of  Lost, so much so that he's organized a big event in  his town in Spain, so that people can watch the show simultaneously with the west coast. In the craziness of organizing this, he asked me if I was gonna make a Lost cake. I said I wanted to make something but I wasn't sure what. He said 'well, think about the show and which flavors it makes you think about and make a cake with those flavors'. So I thought mangoes and coconut, and this cake was born.

The end result is a mango panna cotta, sandwiched between two layers of sponge cake. To make it even better, the sponge cake is soaked in coconut milk and topped with toasted coconut. And of course, I had to make something that reminded the famous Dharma Initiative logo. So I cut an eight sides poligon and left the center of the top empty.

Can you see the mango bits in the panna cotta? It's soft and creamy and you can taste that delicious mango. And the toasted coconut gives you a crunch while you're biting into that fluffly sponge cake. Are you drooling yet? Yes yes! I'm gonna give you the recipe.

Printable recipe

For the sponge cake:

6 eggs separated
150 g sugar
150 g flour

Preheat your oven to 350 F

Separate yolks and whites. Beat the yolks with the sugar until you get a creamy mixture that forms ribbons. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Incorporate the whites to the yolks very slowly trying not to deflate them. Fold from bottom to top with a spatula. Make sure your flour is sifted and incorporate it slowly folding until combined. Grease and flour two 8x8 inch pans and bake your sponge cake for about 20 min or until golden. Let the cakes cool.

For the panna cotta

1 medium mango, very ripe
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 envelopes of gelatin powder

In a food processor or blender, turn the mango into puree. Dissolve the gelatin in the recommended amount of water. Set aside. In a pot, heat the heavy cream with the sugar until 'cooked' but don't let it boil. When it's about to boil, take it out from the heat and mix it with the mango. Add the gelatin and mix well. Let it cool for a bit before assembling the cake.

To cut the cake in an eight sided polygon you'll need to freeze it. Otherwise, the panna cotta will collapse when you try to carve it. 

To assemble and cut the cake

Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place one of the sponges at the bottom and pour the panna cotta on top of it. Put in the freezer for about 2 hr or until almost frozen. Cover the panna cotta with the other layer of sponge cake and let the whole cake sit overnight in the freezer. Remove the cake from the freezer and cut the three layers to whatever shape you'd like. Toast some coconut by placing it in a clean pan and heating it at high heat while moving it constantly. In the meantime the sponge will soften. Brush the top sponge with coconut milk. This will give it a nice look and make it sticky. Spread the coconut on top of the cake. If you want an empty space in the middle, just place a glass or mug on top of it.

Chill until it's time for you to devour. Hopefully this cake makes the end of Lost a little less bitter for you.

Coconut cream meringue pie

This is a weird pie. I'm telling you. Not that it tastes weird, but it has some funky ingredients in it. That said, it's a coconut lover's dream. And my friend Amanda is one of them.

A couple months ago I won a contest and received a bunch of coconut stuff at home. The pack included coconut cream and coconut oil so I figured using them would make the pie even more coconutty.

To make it extra extra special I used a chocolate pie crust. Looks good huh? On top of that, the actual pie filling plus a generous dusting with coconut flakes and of course, there's no pie without meringue on top. I love meringue. My mum loves meringue. It's a family thing you know.

Here are the ingredients and the possible substitutions.

For the chocolate crust
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 sticks unsalted butter, very cold cubed
1/4 cup very cold water

For the filling
8 tablespoons coconut cream + 2 cups of water (substitute for 2 cups coconut milk)
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons coconut oil (substitute for 2 tbsp butter)
1/4 cup cornstarch
(2/3 cup sugar, optional, I didn't add it)

For filling topping use 1 cup coconut flakes

For the meringue
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 tablespoons sugar

To make the crust:
In a bowl, mix cocoa powder and flour until well combined. Add the cubed cold butter and mix with your hands, two knifes or a pastry cutter until pebbles form. Add the water and mix until smooth. Don't be lazy! Get your workout of the day!

Blind bake the crust at 350 F for 15 min.

To make the filling:
In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, coconut milk (cream + water) and coconut oil. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Second part of your workout: you're gonna have to whisk well to incorporate the cornstarch. If you get too tired you can always use a handmixer with a whisk attachment. Stir a small amount of the mix into the egg yolks and whisk well. This will bring the eggs to the mix temperature and prevent them from curdling. Add a little more mix, you can never be too cautious. Now add the eggs to the rest of the mix and cook for 2 minutes while whisking. Pour hot filling into the baked crust. Let it cool down for about 10 min and sprinkle with the coconut flakes. Set aside and let it come to room temperature.

To make the meringue and assemble the cake
Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a bowl, preferably cold, add the egg whites and start whipping. When soft peaks form, add the cream of tartar and the sugar. Keep beating until hard picks form. Drop by tablespoonfuls (or pipe with a bag) over filling. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the meringue is golden. Cool on a wire rack for an hour and then transfer to the fridge for at least 2 hrs before serving.

After the hard work, eat a big piece!

Tropical peanut butter cookies

What do you think about when you think about tropical?

Coco-loco... that is, coconut!

Now look at them, at those little beauties with a criss-cross pattern on top

what, you don't see any difference between them and a regular PB cookie? oh well, the difference is in the inside! and its name is...

Coconut peanut butter! which is nothing else but butter made of peanuts and coconut...

 

As you can see, the texture is not the same as in regular peanut butter, actually it's a bit hard to work with when it's at room temperature. But if you heat it up for a bit... you smell heaven... a mixture between regular PB smell and the bliss of coconut scent which got transformed into delicious cookies. 

Now, if you don't have access to coconut peanut butter or just don't want to buy it (i got mine as part of a prize i won on a blog), I bet adding a bit of coconut oil, coconut cream or coconut milk to the regular peanut butter cookie recipe does the trick. Try it! It's a great flavor combination that your taste buds need to explore. 

1/2 cup coconut peanut butter

1/4 cup regular peanut butter (for softness and more fat)

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F

Cream the butters and sugar together until creamy and smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour mixing well with a spatula. You should be able to roll the dough into balls with your hands without it sticking. (I used a 1/2 tablespoon measure to scoop out the dough). 

Once you have your round and shiny balls, make the criss-cross pattern on them... why? I don't know, for fun or for good looks... 

Bake for 10 min or until set. 

Enjoy, lick your fingers, taste that hint of coconut and fall in love with it... 

Coconut-kiwi muffins

I love kiwis, I had a whole bunch of them in the fridge and I started wondering if I could make muffins with them... I found a recipe a the Food Blogga page. Her recipe included coconut milk. Now, I like coconut milk but it is extremely sweet and I was afraid it would kill the sour punching taste of the kiwi. I addapted the recipe and this is the result...
Yummy, moist, crunchy, sweet and sour... the best muffins I've ever made, for real... the coconut gives them a crunch, the kiwi gives some tangyness...

2 regular sized kiwis or 3 small kiwis diced small
2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup regular milk (I use skim)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg and 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut



Preheat oven to 375 F.


Peel kiwis and dice the kiwis and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the butter with the eggs and add the milk, honey and vanilla extract.  Add to the flour mixture, and stir quickly until well combined. Don't overmix! You need to mix just well enough so things are combined.  Add the coconut and kiwis and mix with a spatula. Spoon the batter evenly into 12 muffin molds. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.



Contemplate the beauties you just made and... yum...

Coconut-Kiwi Muffins

Christmas cookie giveaway part 2

The second set of recipes from the cookie boxes my friends got for xmas.

Orange coconut cookies

They don't look amazing but I promise these were the stars of the party... chewy, flavorful, with a crunch from the coconut... 

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons orange zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine the flour, zest, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until combined.  Beat together butter and sugars  until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until just combined. Add the flour and mix well. Stir in the coconut and mix. Refrigerate the dough for about an hour. Drop by tablespoonfuls in a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 min until edges are golden.




Cranberry walnut bars


The easiest bars you've ever made! And if you're not a fan of cranberries or walnuts you can use any other type of dried fruit/nut you like. Warning! they are yummy but sticky!

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs (you can crush them with whatever you like, food processor is the cool way but I used a hammer ;) )
1 1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 F

Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the graham cracker crumbs. Mix well and place in an oven pan forming a crust (this will be the crust of the bars). I made a thin crust but I think next time I'll try with a thicker one so the bars hold shape better. On top of the crust, spread the cranberries and walnuts. Drizzle the condensed milk on top and press with a fork so that everything sticks together. Bake for 25 min until the top is golden brown. Important!!! Let them cool well before cutting, otherwise it's really hard to get nice looking bars.

Christmas cookie giveaway Part I

Sometimes finding the appropriate Christmas gift is pretty much a nightmare, so this year I decided to give my sweet tooth friends a bunch of nicely packed Christmas cookies. Here are the recipes for my christmas tree classic sugar cookies and the coconut macaroons. I have to say it was the first time I made coconut macaroons and I was really happy when one of my labmates told me they were the best she'd ever tried!


Christmas tree sugar cookies

3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon of milk

Preheat the oven at 350 F

Beat together butter and sugar and when fluffy, add eggs one at a time. Add the milk and mix well. Add the flour one cup at a time and the baking powder and salt. Once the mix is ready chill in the refrigerator for 1 hr. Roll the dough to a thickness of about half an inch. Wax paper helps a lot on the rolling along with flour.
Bake for 10-12 min until slightly brown on the bottom. 

For the icing
Beat toghether 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter and 2 cups of confectioners sugar. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. For color add food coloring. I sprinkled mine with green sugar.


Coconut Macaroons

2 egg whites
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 2/3 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven at 350 F

Beat the egg whites until white, stiff and fluffy. Remember that a clean bowl helps with that. Add the granulated sugar and keep beating until it has the consistency of icing. Add the vanilla. Stir in the coconut and mix with a spatula. Don't overmix to avoid the egg whites from deflating. I used a pastry bag to get more even coconuts but you can also drop them by tablespoonfuls on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 min, until tops are golden brown.