Coconut Tarragon Custard With Grilled Pineapple Food

GRILLED PINEAPPLE

Steps:

• Preheat the grill to high. Oil the grate.
• Cut the rind off the pineapple, leaving the green leaves intact. Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise through the leaves as well as the fruit to obtain 8 slender wedges of pineapple with leaves intact. Trim the core off each pineapple wedge. Have the melted butter in one shallow bowl; mix the sugar, lime zest, cinnamon and cloves in another bowl.
• Dip each wedge of pineapple first in melted butter, then in the sugar mixture, shaking off the excess. Grill the pineapple wedges until browned and sizzling, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer the pineapple wedges to plates or a platter. Serve with ice cream.
• If using the rum, heat it in a small saucepan until warm, almost hot, but do not let boil. Touch a match to the rum and pour it over the pineapple. Serve at once.

CUSTARD CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED PINEAPPLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, sift dry ingredients well. Add remaining ingredients except melted butter. Mix until batter is well combined using a whisk. Fold in melted butter and pour into a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into 3-inch squares and serve with Caramelized Pineapple.
• In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar. Add vanilla. Fold in diced pineapple and continue to cook until mixture has thickened.

CHOC-NANNER-NUT CUSTARDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a food processor pulse vanilla wafers until reduced to crumbs. Continuing to pulse, add 1 teaspoon of the sugar and salt, then slowly drizzle in butter until completely combined. Divide mixture in half and pour into ramekins. Using the bottom of a small glass, press the crumbs into the ramekins to make a crust on the bottom. The crust should be about 1/4-inch thick.
• In a medium bowl combine banana, brown sugar, peanuts and chocolate chips. Divide this mixture in half and place in the bottom of each ramekin. In the same bowl, whisk together yolks, heavy cream, vanilla, zest and remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar until sugar is dissolved. Pour evenly into both ramekins and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

GRILLED PINEAPPLE WITH ICED COCONUT CREAM

Steps:

• To toast coconut, place shredded coconut in a frying pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until lightly golden.
• In a bowl, combine ice cream, nectar, and rum and mix until smooth consistency. Put into a container and place in freezer for 2 to 3 hours. In a grill pan over high heat (or outdoor grill), grill pineapple rings for 3 to 5 minutes. Turn over and grill for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Remove to plate and set aside.
• To serve, place pineapple ring on plate with a scoop of Iced Coconut Cream. Top with any accumulated juice from pineapple. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.

RUM SPIKED GRILLED PINEAPPLE WITH TOASTED COCONUT

Steps:

• Combine sugar and rum in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1-1/2 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Brush the rum mixture evenly over pineapple wedges.
• Heat butter in a grill pan over medium high heat. Add pineapple; grill 3 minutes on each side or until grill marks form and pineapple is thoroughly heated.
• Sprinkle with coconut.

COCONUT-GRILLED PINEAPPLE

Steps:

• Cut off the top and the bottom of the pineapple.
• Stand pineapple up and cut off the skin, cutting downward in strips from top to bottom. Make sure you slice deep enough to remove the brown "eyes".
• Place pineapple on it's side and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices (rounds). You will get between 8 and 12 rounds from a pineapple, depending on it's size.
• Using a melon baller, remove the fibrous core from the center of each slice.
• Shake the coconut milk can well, then pour into a wide, shallow bowl.
• Place the sugar and cinnamon in another wides, shallow bowl. Stir to mix.
• Preheat grill to high. Brush and oil the grill grate.
• Dip each pineapple slice first into the coconut milk, then the sugar mixture, shaking off the excess between each dipping.
• Arrange the slices on the hot grates and grill until nicely browned on both sides, about 4-6 minutes per side.
• Transfer grilled fruit to a serving platter and garnish with mint leaves.
• Serve hot or cold, with or without a scoop of ice cream.

PINEAPPLE & CHERRY SPONGE WITH COCONUT RUM CUSTARD

Steps:

• Line the base of a 1-litre pudding basin with a disc of baking parchment, then oil the parchment. Drain the pineapple and save the juice. Pat the rings dry with kitchen paper, then use them to line the base and sides of the basin, cutting the last couple to fill any gaps. Push a halved cherry in each pineapple hole and any other gaps - you should have some left over.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Boil the kettle. Melt the remaining coconut oil in a pan or the microwave. While it cools, put 140g flour and the sugar into a bowl and stir together. Toss the remaining cherries through 1 tsp flour.
• Pour the coconut oil into the flour mixture along with the eggs, cherries and 2 tbsp pineapple juice. Fold everything together with a spatula and gently scrape into the pudding basin. Cover the pudding with a sheet of baking parchment, then a sheet of foil, with a folded pleat down the centre. Stand in a deep roasting tin on the middle shelf of the oven and pour the kettle-hot water into the tin, to come about half way up the sides of the basin. Bake for 2 hrs 15 mins. Insert a skewer into the centre of the pudding - it will come out clean if it's cooked, but if not, re-cover and return to the oven for 10 mins, then check again.
• To make the custard, pour the coconut milk into a small pan and warm it, but don't let it boil. Whisk the egg, yolk, cornflour, sugar and rum in a jug. Whisk in the warm coconut milk, then pour the liquid through a sieve back into the pan. Return to a low-medium heat and stir constantly until thickened. Stir in the vanilla.
• To serve, carefully turn it out onto a plate, brush the pudding with the warmed golden syrup, then serve hot with the warm coconut custard.

COCONUT CUSTARD TART WITH ROASTED PINEAPPLE

Steps:

• Rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg yolks and 1-2 tbsp cold water, then mix until the dough starts to form clumps. Tip onto your work surface and knead a few times to bring any crumbs into the dough. Shape into a puck, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and put a baking sheet on the middle shelf to warm up. Roll out the dough on a flour-dusted surface to line the base and sides of a 23cm round fluted tart tin. Drape it over a rolling pin and lift into the tin, keeping an overhang of about 1cm. Press into the corners, leaving no gaps. Save the pastry scraps.
• Line the tart case with parchment and tip in baking beans or rice. Bake for 20-25 mins on the sheet, then remove the beans and parchment. Check for holes and patch them with the scraps. Put back in the oven for 5-10 mins to give it a nutty brown colour. Brush with the beaten egg and return to the oven for 2 more mins. While still warm, use a serrated knife to trim the pastry to the height of the tin. Leave to cool. Reduce oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
• Put the cream and coconut cream in a pan and heat until steaming. Meanwhile, whisk the whole eggs, yolks and sugar until pale. Pour the hot cream over the eggs, whisking until the sugar has dissolved. Pour through a sieve into a jug.
• Put the tart case on the baking sheet in the oven, with the shelf pulled out. Pour in the custard, using up as much as you can. Sprinkle nutmeg over the top generously and bake for 50-55 mins until the custard is set with a little wobble when gently shaken. Leave to cool. Chill for at least two hours, or up to two days.
• When ready to cook the pineapple, heat oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 8. Peel it using a knife to carve away the skin, then cut into four wedges and remove the core. Slice lengthways into long slivers. Arrange over a baking tray lined with parchment. Mix the sugar, rum (or lime juice) and a grating of nutmeg, then paint this over the pineapple. Bake for 10 mins, or until caramelised. Serve warm with the cold tart. We served ours on top with coconut shavings.

COCONUT TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place a shallow 23cm flan tin on a baking tray. Tip the spices, coconut and sugar into a pan with 150ml water and cook over a low heat for about 5 mins, stirring frequently to ensure the mixture doesn't catch. Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line the flan tin. Trim off the excess pastry, fill the pastry case with baking parchment and baking beans and cook for 15 mins. Remove the beans and cook for 5 mins more so the pastry on the base of the tin is just cooked, but not brown.
• Beat the egg and melted butter into the cooled coconut mixture, then spoon into the pastry case and smooth the top. Bake for 25 mins until the pastry is golden and the coconut pale golden. Serve with cream or real vanilla ice cream and some Cape gooseberries, then follow with cups of black Rooibos tea.