T[r]opic
December 13, 2011
Hope you all had a good week-end. Here, it was a great one. After a full week of rain, the week-end held its promises and was all balmy and nice. Enough to make one girl happy.
Two days, quickly spent, going to our usual farmers market, picnicking on the beach, crafting a Christmas tree and chatting for hours with my sisters on Skype...
Knowing how much I'm fond of pineapple, my little sister teased me with fresh and juicy slices she was nibbling on, while we talked. On my side, I told her about my late disappointment that I turned into a surprisingly good dessert...
Except bananas - Paprika seems unable to live without them- I rarely buy tropical fruits. More often than not, I tend to be disappointed. I guess that's because I've been spoiled during all my childhood eating fully ripped and sweet ones directly from the tree. And the pineapple I recently bought, fell into this disappointing category. It was bland.
If baking tropical fruits is not always my first thought, this time, it was an option to consider. And that's how this pineapple gratin with coconut milk and vanilla bean was born. To be honest, the result exceeded my expectations. Paprika and I gave it the approval stamp and I filed it under 'to bake again very soon'...
Coconut & Pineapple Gratin
375ml (1 1/2cup) coconut milk 2 egg yolks + 1 egg 90g (1/2cup) sugar + brown sugar for sprinkling 2 tbsp cornstarch 1 pinch salt 1 tbsp rum 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 pineapple, peeled and sliced
In a saucepan, bring coconut milk to a boil, add vanilla seeds and then keep aside. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and egg with sugar for a minute or until pale. Add cornstarch and whisk. Keep on whipping and slowly pour in hot coconut milk. In a saucepan over medium fire, heat the batter stirring continuously, until thick and creamy. Stir in rum. In a gratin dish or individual ramekins, arrange pineapple slices and spoon custard over fruit. Sprinkle with brown sugar on the top and grill (broil) until nicely golden.
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J'espère que vous avez tous passé un bon week-end. Ici, ce fut très bien. Après une semaine pluvieuse, le week-end a tenu ses promesses et c'était douceur et ciel bleu. Suffisant pour rendre une fille heureuse.
Deux jours, rapidement passés, avec notre tour habituel au marché, un picnic sur la plage, la confection de l'arbre de Noël et le bavardage pendant des heures avec mes soeurs sur Skype...
Connaissant à quel point j'aime l'ananas, ma petite soeur m'a provoqué avec des tranches juteuses et fraîchement coupées qu'elle savourait tout en discutant. De mon côté, je lui ai raconté ma dernière déconvenue que j'ai transformé en un surprenant et bon dessert...
A l'exception des bananes - Paprika semble incapable de vivre sans- j'achète rarement des fruits tropicaux. La plupart du temps, je suis plutôt déçue. Je suppose que cela vient du fait que j'ai été gâtée, pendant mon enfance, à pouvoir en manger de bons et mûrs, directement de l'arbre. Et l'ananas que j'avais acheté récemment, est tombé dans cette catégorie décevante. Il était insipide.
Si préparer les fruits tropicaux en dessert n'est pas toujours mon premier réflexe, cette fois, c'était une option à considérer. Et c'est comme ça que ce gratin au lait de coco et à l'ananas est né. Pour être honnête, le résultat a dépassé mes attentes. Paprika et moi lui avons donné le tampon d'approbation et je l'ai classé dans la catégorie 'à refaire très vite '...
Gratin d’Ananas au Lait de Coco
375ml lait de coco 2 jaunes d’oeuf + 1 oeuf 90g sucre + sucre roux pour saupoudrer 2 c.à.s maïzéna 1 pincée de sel 1 c.à.s de rhum 1 gousse de vanille, fendue et graines grattées
1 ananas, épluché et découpé en tranches.</em>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Dans une casserole, porter à ébullition le lait de coco, ajouter les graines de vanille, puis réserver. Dans une jatte, battre les jaunes d’oeuf et l’oeuf avec le sucre pendant une minute ou jusqu’à ce que le mélange soit pâle. Ajouter la maïzéna et mélanger. Tout en continuant de battre, verser peu à peu le lait de coco chaud. Dans une casserole sur feu moyen, chauffer la mixture tout en mélangeant constamment, jusqu’à obtenir la consistance d’une crème épaisse. Ajouter le rhum et mélanger. Dans un plat à gratin ou des ramequins individuels disposer les tranches d’ananas et verser par dessus la crème préparée. Saupoudrer de sucre roux et mettre au grill. Cuire jusqu’à ce que le dessus soit bien doré.</p>
Comments
Divine looking and sounding! An wonderfully exotic treat. Cheers, Rosa Rosa May (@RosasYummyYums)
What a great idea! I must remember to try this. I know what you mean about the insipid tasting tropical fruits you get here. I grew up in the tropics and fruit (any fruit!) was always full of flavour. Over here, even when it’s ripe, the fruit can be quite tasteless. Tropical fruits is so hard to get here anyway, so I normally take what I can get, even if the taste disappoints! But your idea of using them in a gratin is certainly a good one! :-) Sugar and Spice
Beautiful photographs and a delicious combination of flavors. Anyone in my house would love this dessert. Snippets of Thyme
This makes so much sense, but is something I never would have thought to do! What a delicious way to use up a disappointing fruit, and it seems rather appropriate given all the muggy, sub-tropical weather we’ve been having lately :) milliemirepoix
I don’t often think to bake with tropical fruits. This sounds like a great way to salvage some less than perfect pineapple. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen
Sylvie, I’ll surely recycle the idea and use this recipe for any tasteless fruit in the future. Heather, I thought about the same ! Mango would be great here too, if only it was not so pricey here… Vanille
*This looks fantastic! I was planning a butternut squash + espresso pots de creme for a special treat this weekend, but I might have to go for this made with mango! Cheers, *Heather** heather
Snippet of Thyme, funny how sometimes good thing can come out of unwanted situation ;) Rosa, thank you ! Milliemirepoix, I was fine with the muggy weather until today (kind of remind me home anyway) but want sunshine back now… Sugar and Spice, each place has its own strength. As a child, I remember mealy imported apples. Nothing you can compare with good ones you can eat here. And I’ve spotted the very first stone fruits of the season… Bring on Summer ! Vanille
This recipe looks delicious. I love coconut cream in desserts. This looks like it could be eaten in summer and in winter. Bunny Eats Design
Je t’aime! Comforting & tropical which is perfect for this wild weather! But thankfully blessed with sunshine for Christmas & a couple of BBQs! Mairi @ Toast