The hot and humid weather here in Sydney and the abundance of tropical fruit steered our choice of dessert for a celebratory dinner last week.
Our combination of Roast Coconut Ice Cream with Tropical Sorbet and a Coconut Wafer made a particularly delicious marriage.
The tangy pineapple, passionfruit and lime sorbet is an excellent foil for the rich, creamy, roast coconut ice cream. A few slices of sweet mango, a drizzle of passionfruit pulp and the crisp coconut wafer balance the dish perfectly.
Too much trouble? Too many components? Were we not in celebratory mode we might agree, so we’ve given you some suggestions to simplify the process while still having your hand in the production.
If time is of the essence, however, you can simply make only the coconut wafers yourself and use good quality purchased ice creams and sorbets in any flavour combination you fancy. Arrange some seasonal fruit on the side and you have a celebration on a plate.
Rosie
ROAST COCONUT AND UMESHU ICE CREAM WITH TROPICAL SORBET AND COCONUT WAFERS
Makes 10 x 75ml moulds or serves 8–10 in free form
Roast Coconut Ice Cream (see below for a shortcut)
80 gm desiccated coconut
300 ml coconut cream
60 ml Umeshu (Japanese ume plum liqueur), optional
6 egg yolks
160 gm caster sugar
400 ml pouring cream
Gently toast the desiccated coconut in a frying pan until golden.
Combine the coconut in a small saucepan with the coconut cream and Umeshu. Bring to the boil, stirring. Turn off the heat and allow to cool completely.
Strain through a fine strainer, pressing to remove all the liquid. Discard the solids.
Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until thick and light.
Combine the coconut cream and pouring cream and bring to the boil.
While still whisking, pour the hot cream mix into the egg/sugar mix. Transfer to a clean saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon thickly. Don’t allow to boil.
Strain in to a bowl over ice and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate until chilled.
Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to individual moulds or a container and store in the freezer.
TIP: If you don’t want to make the ice cream yourself, try doing the first three steps of our recipe then folding it through a good quality vanilla ice cream.
Tropical Sorbet
Serves 8
200 ml fresh pineapple juice
200 ml fresh passionfruit juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
50 gm pure icing sugar
40 gm glucose syrup
Combine half the juices, all the icing sugar and glucose syrup in a small saucepan and heat until well combined. Add to the remaining juices and allow to cool. Refrigerate until chilled then churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a container and store in the freezer. Remove from the freezer to the fridge 10-15 minutes before serving.
TIP: If you don’t have an ice cream machine, try transferring your cooled sorbet mix into a tray and freeze it. Put the bowl and blade of a food processor in the freezer until very cold. Remove the frozen sorbet ice from the freezer and cut into chunks. Place in the cold food processor and process until smooth. You will now have churned sorbet. Return to the freezer until ready to serve.
Coconut Wafers
Makes 20-22 (love a few leftovers)
115 gm desiccated coconut
115 gm caster sugar
½ teaspoon ground ginger
100 gm egg white (about 3)
80 gm unsalted butter, melted
Combine the coconut, sugar and ground ginger in a bowl and mix well.
Combine the egg whites and melted butter in another bowl then add to the coconut/sugar mix. Mix well and allow to stand, covered for an hour.
Preheat oven to 150°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Spoon a dessertspoon (two teaspoons) of the mixture into 7cm rounds on the prepared tray and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Stand for 10 minutes on the tray then transfer to a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.
To Serve
1 mango, sliced
4 passionfruit
If the weather is hot, put your serving plates in the fridge for 15 minutes. Arrange some slices of mango on each plate and sprinkle with a little passionfruit pulp. Un-mould the Roasted Coconut Ice Cream or scoop some from your container and place on each of the serving plates. Place a scoop of sorbet on the plate along with a coconut wafer.