‘In several recipes I’ve seen recently that I wanted to make, one of the ingredients is cream of coconut. I have searched in Publix, Winn-Dixie and Sedano’s supermarkets in the canned, packaged and frozen sections, and have asked employees, and nowhere have I found cream of coconut. I found shredded coconut, grated coconut and coconut milk. Can you help?
-N. H.
I’m truly puzzled that you couldn’t find cream of coconut at any of those stores, but I’m more perplexed that employees didn’t help you find it. Cream of coconut comes in a can and is not an exotic hard-to-find item. It is usually found either in the Latin or Indian section of supermarkets, or sometimes in the bartending section or the baking aisle. You can also find it in many liquor stores. Brand names include Coco-Lopez, Goya and Roland.
Cream of coconut is widely used in baking and desserts and ethnic cooking. And, of course, in tropical drinks like pina coladas. It is to coconut milk what sweetened condensed milk is to plain milk. It has a thick, creamy texture and concentrated coconut flavor, made by cooking fresh coconut meat with water and then sweetening the strained reduction.
In a pinch you can substitute sweetened condensed milk for cream of coconut, but add coconut extract to taste.
Here’s one of my favorite uses of cream of coconut, a Key-lime kissed baste with a hint of curry and whisper of heat that is great for grilled fish or shrimp, chicken or vegetables. It is from The Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale’s cookbook, “Made in the Shade.”
KEY LIME COCONUT CURRY GRILLING SAUCE
2⁄3 cup canned cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)
½ cup Key lime juice
7 tablespoons minced green onions
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon cayenne powder, or to taste
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Whisk the cream of coconut and lime juice in a bowl. Stir in the onion, curry and cayenne powders, salt and pepper. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Brush the sauce over fresh seafood before and during grilling. Be sure to reserve some of the sauce to serve with the seafood. Makes 1½ cups.
Per tablespoon: 32 calories (37 percent from fat), 1.4 g fat (1.3 g saturated, 0.1 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 0.2 g protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 0.2 g fiber, 51.8 mg sodium.
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I have tried many many times to make a birthday cake frosting that will hold up the way the ones do that you buy at the supermarket bakery. I can make beautiful cakes but the frosting in the summer just seems to droop and not hold its shape, especially if you are decorating it. Do you know what they put into the frosting to make it stay so soft, yet hold its peaks and swirls and piped rosettes?
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-Kelly Woods
Most grocery store bakeries use a light, whipped frosting that uses vegetable shortening as a base, not butter or whipped cream or any of the perishable ingredients you no doubt have lovingly put into your frostings.
I know a lot of people who grew up on supermarket cakes actually prefer this frosting, though I personally would rather just eat cake and forget that sugar/shortening mix.
I think there are two types of cake eaters in this world, those who’d rather eat cake and leave the frosting behind, and those who can’t resist a finger swipe into the frosting as soon as they see it!
Anyway, for frosting – and decorating – fans, a wonderful new cookbook is “Frostings” by Courtney Dial Whitmore (Gibbs Smith, $19.99). It not only includes traditional frosting favorites such as American and French buttercreams, but new popular flavor combinations such as salted caramel, chai vanilla bean and Champagne buttercream. The illustrations of beautiful techniques will make even all-thumbs decorators look professional.
The supermarket frosting recipe here is from the book, and very nicely emulates that sweet, fluffy yet sturdy frosting. It is great for kids’ birthday cakes or anyone with a big sweet tooth. It’s made with shortening so it produces a pure white frosting that holds its shape well when piped.
WHIPPED GROCERY FROSTING
1 cup shortening
½ cup butter
6 cups confectioners’ sugar
1½ tablespoons vanilla extract
Combine shortening and butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Once creamy, add confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time until well incorporated. Mix in vanilla and 4 tablespoons of water. Beat for 5 to 6 minutes, until light and fluffy. Makes 4½ cups.
Per serving (½ cup): 557 calories (52 percent from fat), 33 g fat (12 g saturated, 12 g monounsaturated), 27 cholesterol, 0 g protein, 67 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, 93 mg sodium.
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I am a big fan of brunch at The Cheesecake Factory and especially enjoy the lemon-ricotta pancakes. I would love to make these for a breakfast I am hosting during a family reunion weekend. Can you get me the recipe or do you have one that is similar?
-Linda Hunter, Wilmington, N.C.
These would make a lovely breakfast no matter the occasion. The recipe is from The Cheesecake Factory, which, by the way, offers other recipes on its website at www.thecheesecakefactory.com.
CHEESECAKE FACTORY’S LEMON-RICOTTA PANCAKES
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1¾ cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1½ cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups ricotta cheese
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons minced lemon zest
Additional vegetable oil for cooking
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside. Beat the buttermilk with the eggs, vanilla and oil until well incorporated. Add the ricotta, sugar and lemon zest. Whisk the flour mixture gently into the liquid mixture until evenly combined. Do not overmix the batter
Heat ¼ teaspoon of vegetable oil on a griddle or in a large non-stick pan. Using a 4-ounce ladle, pour the batter onto the griddle or into the non-stick pan, forming one pancake that is 6 inches in diameter. Cook the pancake for approximately 2½ minutes or until the edges begin to dry and puff up and little air bubbles start appearing over the top surface. Flip pancake over and continue to cook for another 1½ minutes or until done. Repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes.
Per serving (one pancake): 290 calories (35 percent from fat), 11.3 g fat (4.6 g saturated, 4.3 g monounsaturated), 71 cholesterol, 13 g protein, 33 g carbohydrates, .7 g fiber, 487 mg sodium.
SLEUTH’S CORNER
I do hope someone can help me find an old recipe for a dessert that was served at La Casita Tea Room on Main Highway in Coconut Grove, Fla., in the 1950s and 1960s. We would go there for supper after church on Sundays. They served what I remember as Ice Box Pudding. I think it had some kind of wafer or cake, whipped cream, chocolate pudding and maybe some nuts. It was one of the highlights of my childhood. If there is some way to track this recipe down, I would be eternally grateful. I have scoured the Internet for ice box pudding recipes but nothing comes close to how I remember this.
-Cynthia
• Write to Linda Cicero at [email protected] or c/o Food, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132. Personal replies are not possible.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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