Young Coconut Dessert, DULCE de COCO TIERNO

In my kitchen today .... sweet young coconut cream dessert or Dulce de Coco Tierno as we call it here. Although we have many coconut trees in our farm, I must confess that this is the first time I made this dessert.  It was not until my aunt, Nidia, who came to visit and made some delicious coconut dessert with coconuts from our farm, that I got inspired to prepare some myself. I always procrastinated making this dessert until now, I had all the ingredients and it was just a matter to start preparing it. I am happy with the outcome because it is another of my hubby's favorites that I've learned to prepare! The second time I made this recipe, I doubled the amount because one batch is not enough for us. I hope you make this recipe and enjoy it as much as we do. If you can't get tender coconut meat in you area, mature coconut or grated coconut could be used.

En español: AQUÍ

 Below you can see part of the coconut, tangerine and orange trees that we planted ten years ago in our farm.

Lately I have very little time to update my blog, as much as I would like. Why? My dream for a few years now, has been to get a Siberian Husky. Well, this past week it became true. I not only have one, but three Siberian Husky puppies: Suki, Brownie and Mía. But that's not everything..... my husband also bought a German Shepherd for him, Duchess. So you can imagine, all these puppies added to my daily list of tasks, work/baking, different school and college schedules for my daughters, etc. etc. These pets are in addition to the ones we already have: one rotweiler, four chiguaguas, a cat, three turtles, a parrot and the chick pochungo, now almost a rooster. With all this, I am lucky if I get a few minutes to blog :)

Our new pets:

Let me get back on track .... here is the recipe, Enjoy!

My first coconut dessert with young coconut meat.

Second time I prepared it, with mature coconut meat. The result is a more grainy texture, but with the same great taste.

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Young Coconut Dessert, DULCE de COCO TIERNO

by Mari's Cakes September-19-2011

A Dominican homemade dessert made with a tender coconut meat, milk and sweet condensed milk. I know you'll like this creamy dessert.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups young coconut meat cut into strips
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 can sweeten condensed milk (405 g)
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cinnamon stick

Instructions:

1. Wash and chop the tender coconut meat into small pieces with the help of a knife. If you are using a mature coconut meat, see notes below. 2. Mix all ingredients except the sweetened condensed milk. Bring to high heat until boiling point for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the sweetened condensed milk.  3. Let simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until thickened. At all times you must move with a wooden spoon approximately every two minutes to prevent it sticking bottom of the pot. Cool and serve. 

Notes:
a) If you are using dried coconut or mature coconut meat, you can use a grater or a food processor to chop into very fine and small pieces. You should also allow more time boiling milk (15-30minutes) before putting sweeten condensed milk. This is time will allow it to get more tender before sweetening.

b) You can substitute the evaporated milk with whole milk. Then you would use 3 ½ cups (830 g) whole milk in total.

 Total time: 30 mins Yield: Four 1/2 cup servings

En español: AQUÍ

How can a young person keep his life pure? By living in keeping with your word. - Psalm 119:9

Pencil Cake

A sweet end to summer vacation! Today I share a pencil cake to celebrate this "Back to School” month. I wanted to make pencil cookies, but ended up doing a cake by unanimous votes a home. It is a perfect surprise after school snack for kids! It also makes a perfect Teacher’s Day, school party or school meeting treat. This entry is dedicated to all the wonderful, hardworking teachers and students. May this year be a safe, intellectual growth, and a positive one for everyone.

I saw this cake  at Family Fun in 2008 and I loved the idea. It's made with a sculpting/ cutting technique to shape a cake without buying a specific mold. For those who are learning to decorate cake, this is a perfect shape because it's not that complicated. I used a 9 inch square pan that I already had. Feel free to use any of your favorite cake recipe, for me, it is chocolate cake! On this occasion I use the Easy Spongy Chocolate Cake recipe but this time adding a cup of vegetable oil in the mix to make it even softer. I didn't use a filling, but if you do prefer to use one I highly recommend it for this cake.

Steps:
Cut into a pencil shape. Glue two ends with frosting or jam. I use homemade strawberry jam.

Cover with a light coat of beige colored frosting as a crumb coat. Try not to get cake crumbs all over the frosting. What I do: I place a small amount of frosting in a separate bowl and use that to seal the cake, this way my frosting remains clean of crumbs!  Continue the process desired decoration.

It is easier to decorating with buttercream or fondant and I am sure it will come out MUCH nicer, but I used Italian meringue because lately I have no desire for anything butter. Also because I want to demonstrate different techniques that are possible with the typical Italian meringue frosting we constantly use here. For the brown details I used chocolate buttercream, now this is a frosting I never get tired of! I added one drop of black to the chocolate frosting to give it a darker tone.

Tips used: Ateco #4 and #22


Colors: Ateco (Soft Gel Paste food color) Marca Ateco (Soft Gel Paste Food Colors) Chocolate Brown, Electric Yellow y Deep Pink

En español: AQUÍ

Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you.- Amos 5:14

I hope you liked this idea, make a pencil cake soon, and don't forget to send me photos!
 

GRILLED PEACHES WITH CINNAMON SYRUP

I hope you are having a pleasant summer despite the heat wave that some regions have had. We have had  a few rainy days with nice temperatures :) Nice enough to continue to BBQ. As I stated in a previous post, Time for Barbecuing , I have taken a vacation from the "kitchen" and have been preparing almost everything on the grill. So when I saw this dessert, I went running to buy what I needed to make some grilled peaches PRONTO!

The recipe that I share below was inspired by Christina’s grilled peaches and cinnamon ice-cream recipe. Feel free two visit her blog Desserts for Two , filled with awesome southern recipes.

With Nectarines too!

Unfortunately, peaches are not a common fruit in Dominican Republic, and one is lucky to find a few peaches or nectarines in season. The only ones they had at the store were the cling type, so it was a difficult adventure trying to release the seeds from the nectarines, but I didn’t give up because this dessert is worth the struggle. We were delighted with the results, and I have prepared this recipe several times already. This dessert is to be serve warm with ice cream, but I warn you that the combination of flavors and texture in different temperatures makes it IRRESISTIBLE! Best of all is the aroma of warm peaches, is INDESCRIBABLE! I think this will become our favorite dessert for summer 2011.

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Grilled Peaches with Cinnamon Glaze

by Mari's Cakes August-01-2011

Great summer outdoor dessert for peach lovers! I am sure it will become one of your favorites.

Ingredients:

• 5 ripe freestone peaches or nectarines (do not use cling peaches)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup Frangelico (hazelnut liquor) see notes
• Oil for greasing grille
• Ice cream of your choice (I used Vanilla)

Instructions:

1. For cinnamon syrup: In a saucepan combine brown sugar cinnamon and Frangelico. Let it come to a simmer, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat.2. For peaches: Cut the peaches in half and twist apart. Brush each peach with the brown sugar sauce and place on the grill, cut side down. When nice grill marks are formed, brush with syrup again, flip the peaches and cook for a few minutes until tender or to taste.3. Serve peaches topped ice cream or alone. I served with vanilla ice-cream, topped with chopped pecans and left over syrup. Notes:
a) For the cinnamon syrup you can use 40 ml of water or corn syrup + 2 teaspoons of vanilla instead of liquor.
b) DO use freestone peaches for a more pleasant experience and nicer finish.
c) Make sure the grates are clean and brushed with oil before the peaches go on, this keeps them from sticking.

Details:

Total time: 25 mins Yield: 5 servings

Receta de Melocotones a la Parrilla con Almíbar de Canela 

En español: AQUÍ

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. - Psalm 103:13