Showing posts with label Coconut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coconut. Show all posts

Buko Pandan - My Favorite Dessert

24 September 2008 Labels: , , , , 9 comments


I remember tasting this unusual dessert when I went back to the Philippines in 2003. This dessert has young coconut slivers mixed in with Pandan (Screwpine) flavored gelatin, sugar and heavy cream. The cream was heavily colored with Pandan extract so it was greener than the one I made on the photo above. Regardless of the aesthetic, I still liked the taste. It's simple and not pretentious.
Making this is quite easy. The part that took the longest was waiting for the gelatin to set. Otherwise, everything was a breeze. I decided to work on the presentation a little bit. You can blame it on the years I watched Food TV (now the Food Network.)

You can find Pandan (Screwpine) leaves in an Asian grocery, it is usually in the frozen food section. Some grocery have the Pandan extract, using this will save you time. Young coconut is sold in cans or you can also find these in the freezer section.

BUKO PANDAN
2 cans young coconut meat, drained and cut into strings
1/2 teaspoon pandan extract
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar or Splenda
for the Pandan gelatin:
2 (90 g) packages unflavored gelatin
3 cups water
1-1 1/2 tablespoon pandan extract
4 drops green food coloring (omit if extract is green)
1/4 cup sugar

Dissolve gelatin and sugar in the water and bring to boil.
Remove from heat and stir in the pandan extract and food color.
Pour into a rectangular pan and refrigerate until firm.
Cut the gelatin into 1 inch cubes.
Whip the heavy cream to thicken it just a little bit but you can use it as it is.

In a large bowl, mix cream, sugar and pandan extract.
Add the gelatin cubes.
Chill before serving.

Notes:
-You can substitue light cream or half and half for the heavy cream. If you want an authentic Filipino flavor, use the brand NESTLE CREAM (canned cream.)
-If using Pandan leaves, boil it in 3 cups of water. Use this liquid for the gelatin.
-Adjust the amount of sugar according to your taste.

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Lasang Pinoy 24 - Loco over Coco - Buko Custard Pie

29 February 2008 Labels: , , , , , 9 comments

Lasang Pinoy 24

This month's theme for Lasang Pinoy is coconut. There are a lot of recipes using a coconut product. Didn't they say that the coconut is the 'Tree of Life' because every part of the tree can be used in one way or the other.

Living in New England, it is not convenient to get fresh coconut. I miss the wet market in the Philippines where you can buy freshly grated coconut and squeeze it to get the 'kakang gata' or coconut cream or the street vendor pushing a cart full of young coconuts for a refreshing coconut juice drink.Here in the US, you can get a mature coconut from your local grocer but you are on your own when it comes to opening it up. A trip to an Asian grocery will yield a lot of frozen and canned coconut products. These are what I use whenever the recipe calls for one.Coconut products

I had a hard time deciding on what to make since there are a lot of uses for coconut in Philippine cuisine. I only had a week of preparation for this and today is the last day, hooray for Leap Year! LOL

I had the idea of making buko pie but couldn't find a buko pie recipe in the 8(!) Filipino cookbooks I have. While leafing through one cookbook, I came across a recipe for Buko Custard Pie, this is new to me. So, I decided to make this as my contribution for Lasang Pinoy 24.

Buko Custard Pie
BUKO CUSTARD PIE (source: Baking Made EC by Eufemia C. Estrada)

Filling:
1.5 cups shredded buko
0.5 cup sugar
0.75 cup sugar
4 tbsp cornstarch
1 can evaporated milk
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp dayap juice

Meringue Topping:
3 egg whites
6 tbsp sugar

1 pie crust

* Bake the pie crust in a preheated 425degF oven for 15-20 minutes until light brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temprature to 300degF.

* MAKE THE FILLING: Cook the buko with 1/2 cup sugar until slightly thick. Set aside. Combine 3/4c sugar with the cornstarch and add to the milk. Cook on top of double boiler until slightly thick. Beat egg yolks lightly and add a little of the hot mixture to it then stir into the rest of the hot mixture. Add buko mixture and cook a little longer, until thick, stirring constantly. Set aside and make meringue

*Beat egg whites till frothy, add the sugar gradually and beat to soft peaks.

*ASSEMBLE THE PIE: Pour the hot filling into the cooked pie crust and spread evenly. Top the hot filling with the meringue, taking care to spread the meringue to the sides of the crust to seal it. This will prevent the meringue from weeping.

*Bake in 300degF oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool on wire rack.

This buko custard pie turned out very sweet even though I did not add the syrup from the cooked buko. I suggest reducing the amount of sugar (1/4 cup and maybe 1/2 cup) unless you have a sweet tooth. :) Since I do not have Lime to substitute for Dayap, I omitted it. All in all, this is a good take on the buko pie but nothing beats the original of course.
Buko Pie
2 c young coconut, sliced into strips
1/2 c coconut juice
1/2 c condensed milk
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 ready-made pie crust
Bake one pie crust in 350degF until lightly brown. Set aside.
Combine the filling ingredients except the last two (conrstarch and milk) in a saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Mix the cornstarch and milk.
When the pie filling starts to boil, add the cornstarch mixture, and stir until it has thickened.
Pour into prepared pie crust.
Top with the other pie crust and bake until light brown.
Let the pie cool and refrigerate for a couple of hours until the pie mixture is set.


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