Coconut Paletas and Vanilla Bean Pots de Crème

Last spring, I made and photographed strawberry paletas. 

This time around, I thought to open the popsicle season with the aroma of coconut. Further below, you'll also find the recipe for vanilla pots de creme - a creamy custard that can be served with fresh fruit (finally in season). It's among favorites at our house, easy to whip up, and absolutely divine when served with chopped raw pistachios.


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Proslog proljeca, napravila sam i fotografirala paleta sladolede od jagoda.

Ovaj put, palo mi je na pamet da otvorim sezonu sladoleda aromom kokosa. Ispod cete takodjer naci i recept za pots de creme od vanilije - kremu koju mozete servirati uz svjeze voce. Obzirom da M. jako voli puding, ova krema je jedan od najomiljenijih dezerta u nasem domu. Takodjer se brzo pripremi, a ja je najvise volim posutu svjezim, usitnjenim pistacijama.

I love making paletas, and I am so excited to try many fruit flavors in the coming days. My real challenge is to come up with ways to reduce or eliminate the sugar content.  

This recipe is an adapted version of Paletas de Coco Fresco from Fany Gerson's book on paletas. She used real coconut while I subbed with coconut milk to reduce the prep time. Still a pretty delicious outcome.


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Ja uzivam u pripremanju sladoleda, i radujem se isprobavanju brojnih vocnih okusa u narednim danima. Najveci izazov ce biti da smislim nacine da smanjim ili eliminisem potrebnu kolicinu secera.

Ovaj recept je prilagodjen originalnom receptu Fany Gerson. Ona je koristila cijeli kokos, a ja sam ga zamijenila kokosovim mlijekom kako bih skratila vrijeme potrebno za pripremu. Sladoled je u svakom slucaju bio prilicno ukusan.

Coconut Paletas

Ingredients

2 cups coconut milk
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
pinch of salt (optional)

Method

In a large saucepan, heat coconut milk, whole milk, sugar, and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Taste and add more sugar if you like. Let cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick.

If using conventional molds, divide the mixture among the molds, snap on the lid, add the sticks, and freeze until solid (about 6 hours). I added coconut chips to each mold for a bit of a crunch. If using glasses or other unconventional molds, freeze until the pops are beginning to set (1 1/2 to 2 hours), then insert the sticks and freeze until solid, 4 to 5 hours. 

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Sladoled od kokosa

Sastojci

2 case kokosovog mlijeka 
3 case kravljeg mlijeka
1/2 casa secera
1 stapic cimeta
prstohvat soli (po zelji)

Priprema

U velikom loncu za kuhanje, zagrijte kokosovo mlijeko, mlijeko, secer i cimet. Kad smjesa pocne da kuha, smanjite toplotu i, uz mijesanje, kuhajte 15 minuta. Probajte smjesu i dodajte jos secera ako zelite. Ohladite smjesu do sobne temperature. Uklonite stapic cimeta. 

Ako koristite standardne kalupe, rasporedite smjesu po kalupima, poklopite, dodajte stapice i zaledite (oko 6 sati u zamrzivacu). Ja sam dodala i kokosov cips u svaki kalup. Ako koristite case ili druge netipicne kalupe, zaledite dok smjesa postane cvrsta (sat i pol do dva sata), onda ubacite stapice, i zamrznite jos 4 do 5 sati. 

Pots de creme is a light dessert I often make, especially when I have leftover yolk. The tiny ramekins make for a perfect sweet serving. I am beginning with a vanilla version, yet I am already looking forward to making it with chocolate, raspberries, chocolate and raspberries, and so on... It might take a bit of practice to get the right texture (I've put some tips in the recipe below), but once you master it, you'll get to enjoy one of the smoothest custards ever.

I will be serving it a lot to the many guests we are expecting this summer. You can make it a day or two in advance, to take the edge off the, sometimes stressful, planning of a dinner party. I hope your family enjoys it as much as ours does.

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Pots de creme je lagani dezert koji cesto pravim, narocito kad imam viska zumanjaka. Male zdjelice cine idealnu porciju. Ovaj put s vama dijelim pots de creme od vanilije. Vec se radujem i verzijama sa cokoladom, malinama, cokoladom i malinama, o kojima cu pisati u narednim postovima. Mozda ce vam biti potrebno malo vjezbe da pogodite pravu teksturu, a mozda ce vam odmah poci za rukom. U recept ispod sam stavila nekoliko preporuka.

Mi ovog ljeta ocekujemo brojne goste, pa planiram da im serviram ovu kremu jer ju je lako unaprijed pripremiti. Nadam se da cete vi i vasa porodica uzivati u ovom desertu onoliko koliko mi uzivamo.

Vanilla Bean Pots de Creme

Ingredients

2 cups (500 ml) cream
1/2 vanilla bean
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 120 C (260 F).

Pour cream into a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean half and scrape the seeds into cream. Put the pod in the cream also. Heat over medium heat until the steam rises. Remove from heat, cover the pan and let steep for 30-45 minutes. Strain the cream.

In a separate bowl, beat yolks and sugar together until light. Slowly stir in about a quarter of the cream in this mixture (resist the urge to whisk energetically), and then pour the entire mixture into the remainder of the cream and stir slowly to avoid foaming. Divide the mixture into ramekins and place them in a baking dish. Put the dish in the oven and then add water around the ramekins (about halfway up the outer ramekin walls). If putting the water in before putting the baking dish in the oven, cover with aluminum foil.

Bake 30 to 45 minutes, checking occasionally. The custard is done when the cream is barely set (the center slightly jiggles when the ramekin is touched). Cool in the refrigerator and serve completely cold.  Garnish with raw pistachios and/or fresh fruit.

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Vanilla Bean Pots de Creme

Sastojci

2 case (500 ml) vrhnja za kuhanje
1/2 stapic vanilije
6 zumanaca
1/2 casa secera

Priprema

Zagrijte pecnicu do 120 C (260 F).

Uspite kremu u manji lonac za kuhanje. Uzduz prepolovite vanilin stapic i nozem sastruzite zrna vanilije u kremu. Stavite i stapic u kremu takodjer. Zagrijte na umjerenoj temperaturi dok primijetite da se para dize sa kreme. Sklonite sa toplote, pokrijte lonac i ostavite da stoji 30-45 minuta. Nakon toga procijedite kremu i uklonite vanilin stapic. 

U odvojenoj zdjeli, umutite secer i zumanca. Polako upite oko cetvrtinu kreme u ovu smjesu, lagano promijesajte, a zatim tu smjesu uspite natrag u kremu. Lagano mijesajte kako biste izbjegli stvaranje pjene. Uspite u zdjelice i stavite ih u dublji pleh za pecenje. Stavite pleh sa zdjelicama u pecnicu, a zatim u njega uspite vodu otprilike do polovine vanjskog zida zdjelica. Ukoliko zelite nasuti vodu prije stavljanja pleha u pecnicu, prekrijte pleh i zdjelice aluminijskom folijom.

Pecite 30 do 45 minuta. Povremeno provjeravajte (pecnice se razlikuju). Krema je spremna kad se ucvrsti na ivicama a centar se jos uvijek pomjera kad se zdjelica prodrma. Ohladite u frizideru i servirajte potpuno hladne. Ukrasite svjezim pistacijama ili vocem.