Norwegian School Bread

I made them again.  So delicious.  These I liked a lot more.  Tender and delicious and the cream filling... amazing.  If you don't like the idea of the cream, skip it and just make the buns, so worth it!

I always think of the Norwegian Pavilion at Epcot in Disney when I eat these. 

Norwegian School Bread
Makes 15 buns.

dough:
1 2/3 cups milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 1/4 teaspoons dry instant yeast
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups plain flour
1 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

wash:
1 egg, lightly beaten

coconut coating:
1/3 cup (50g) pure icing sugar, mixed with 2 tsp water
Desiccated coconut, to coat

creme patissiere:
1 1/4 cups (310ml) milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
2 tbs cornflour
1 tsp vanilla extract

dough: In a saucepan,  heat milk and butter over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat, set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer or in a regular bowl combine all the dry ingredients: flour, yeast, sugar, cardamom. 

Add the cooled milk and butter (should be about 110°F or you are able to hold your finger in it for 10 seconds comfortably). Use your hands to form a soft dough (or the mixer). Knead for 5 minutes or until smooth. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Take dough out of bowl. Transfer to a lightly floured surface, fold over itself and deflate. Divide dough into 3 and roll each piece into a log. Divide each log into 5 even pieces and shape into rounds.

Place on lined baking sheets or one big one if you have it.  Cover with clean tea towels. Set aside for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 395°F.

creme patissiere: Heat milk in a pan over medium-high heat. Whisk remaining ingredients together until smooth. As soon as milk bubbles, pour into yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer mixture back to the pan and place over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes until thickened. Transfer to a bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap and cool completely.


preparing to bake: Press deep indentations in each bun. Using a piping bag fill each bun with creme patissiere. Brush dough on sides and tops of buns with beaten egg. Bake, rotating trays halfway, for 20 minutes or until golden and risen. Cool slightly on wire racks.

coconut coating: Brush buns with icing glaze, then roll in coconut to serve.

Coconut Cake with Coconut Frosting

My daughters birthday just passed and this is the cake she wanted.  I don't think she ever had it before.  But she loves coconut.  So this is what she picked.  We all love coconut!

It is amazing how time flies.  I can't believe how fast she is growing up.  I know to say these words is a cliche.  You hear it over and over again.  You don't realize when you are younger what these words mean.  Its only when it is your life to you fully comprehend.  Like all things.  One usually has to go through something to fully understand it. All its nuances.  Like, the passage time I see in her, I don't necessarily want to see this time passage in myself.  Like it or not, though, this is the way it is.

Coconut Cake

5 large eggs, separated
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2-1/4 cups cake flour or regular flour minus 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups flaked coconut, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325F.  Line 2 9 inch rounds with parchment and grease with butter or cooking spray.

Cream together butter, oil and sugar for five minutes.  Add in yolks, one at a time.  Add vanilla extract and coconut extract.

In another bowl combine flour and baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Mix in dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Fold in coconut.

In a separate bowl beat egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until soft peaks form.  Fold into the batter.

Spoon into prepared pans.  Bake for

Coconut Frosting

1 cup butter
4 cups (give or take) confectioners sugar
Coconut Cream*

Cream butter and coconut cream together with confectioners sugar.  Beat until smooth.

*I skimmed the top of the can of coconut milk as I did not have cream of coconut.  If you have it you could replace one of the butters or just use 1/3 cup and do what I did.

COCONUT LIME SCONES

These are the most fluffiest and moist scones I have ever eaten.  So creamy. The lime taste brightens your mouth.  Perfect for your morning breakfast.

I have said it before, if you have any preconceived notions about scones being dry, put that aside and make your own scones.  You will be richly rewarded with tender delicious, melt in your mouth awesomeness to go along side you coffee or tea.

COCONUT LIME SCONES

Use the coconut milk that comes in the can, not in the quart containers in the dairy aisle. Very important:  for a creamy moist scone- do not over bake!
Makes 8 scones

2 1/2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)

1 cup coconut milk

1 extra large egg
zest of 2 limes, plus more for topping

For the glaze:
2 tablespoons coconut milk
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
juice of 1 lime

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Or, if you have a scone pan, grease it up.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until well combined. Cut in the butter.  You can use your fingers to work it into the flour.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the coconut milk, the egg, and the lime zest. Add to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Turn the dough out to a floured work surface. Lightly flour your hands and work the dough until it comes together into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc about 9 inches in diameter. use a dough cutter to cut the disc into 8 even wedges.

Or, if you have a scone pan, spoon it into the wedges evenly.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges. Wait about ten minutes and then move the warm scones to a cooling rack.

Coconut Cream Pie

 

BEST. PIE. EVER.

Very creamy, very tasty, very good, every minute of it. So coconutty! Is that a word?  If it isn't it should be. I wish I had a better picture of it to convey how amazing it was.  Trust me it was delicious.

The original recipe came from Allrecipes and then was modified at Bunny's Warm Oven.  She had the genious idea to use conut milk and half and half combined instead of pure half and half.  Talk about coconutty!


Coconut Cream Pie

One nine inch pie crust baked and ready
1 (13.5 fl oz) can Coconut milk
Half and half - enough to make 3 cups combined with the coconut milk
4 egg yolks, beaten slightly
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Pour coconut milk into measuring cup.  Pour half and half into that same cup until you have reached the 3 cup mark. Pour the mixture into a heavy saucepan and mix in the eggs, sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Turn on heat at about the mid level mark. Whisk away until your arms falls off.  It will begin to thicken.  Keep whisking.  When you see it thicken, keep on stirring for one minute more.  You know it is thickening when it leaves a film on the back of a wooden spoon.  You run your finger through it and the finger mark stays.

Pour mixture into previously baked crust.

I am drooling just thinking of this pie.

I scraped mine off the crust so I can't tell you about the crust.  I will say that everyone said it really went with the texture and taste of the filling.  Funny thing is, I even put some coconut vodka in the crust. I just happen to have a little bottle of it, I thought now isn't this fitting.

My mother tells me that her mother, my grandmother use to put vodka in a lot of baked goods.  I do like it in my pie crust and when I make ice cream.  Just a tablespoon.

Almond Joy Cookies

Almond Joy Cookies.  This cookie had me at the name.  I found it on Pinterest. Totally drool worthy.  I checked out a few recipes and I tweaked it a little and then found when I baked them that I had to tweak it a little more.

Almond Joy Cookies

4 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
3 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups mini chocolate chips
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.  Cream butter and add in sugar, beat for five minutes.  Add in vanilla then eggs one at a time.  Finally, stir in dry ingredients.  Lastly fold in the coconut, almonds, and chocolate chips.

Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Pumpkin and Coconut Curry

Love this time of year with all the butternut squash, pumpkin, and all the other varieties of squash that are out there.  One of my favorites is the buttercup.

Today is the first day that we kinda had snow.  I say kinda because it was mixed with rain.  Not totally frozen.  Out at the store and running errands everyone was pooh-poohing the slush falling from the sky.  I know I am not the only one but I like snow.  I like winter.  I don't mind gray skies.  I know crazy me but honestly I have met a few kindred souls that don't mind it.  Years ago I wouldn't have said this.  I moved to Arizona.  Lived there for three years and that totally killed the need to have heat in my life all the time. 

Hutchinson Farm

It is a very nutty squash.

Pumpkin Coconut Curry
From Sunset October 2011

3 pounds of buttercup, butternut or pumpkin, skinned and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 -2 green serrano chili
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable or other unflavored oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
20 curry leaves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 can coconut milk
1 cup salted and raosted cashews

On parchment paper, place chopped squash.  Roast in the oven at 400F until golden.  This will take about 25 minutes. 

In a large, dry, frying pan toast the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Remove from pan and set aside.  Sauté onion in a tablespoon of oil.  Add the spices back and add coconut milk, cinnamon stick, chile and roasted squash.  Cook for about ten minutes.  Add cashews and lemon juice.  Serve over rice.
 

Coconut Chocolate Bars

These are really good.  They are practically walking out of here.   My girls have been enjoying them in their lunches.

Coconut Chocolate Bars

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups flaked coconut (I used frozen grated, fresh coconut from Goya)
1 (12 ounce) package dark chocolate chips

In a 9 x 13 baking pan, combine melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and almond meal.  Mix together well.  Press evenly over bottom and place in preheated 350F oven for 15 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and pour the condensed milk/ coconut mixture evenly over top.  Place back in oven for 25 to 30 minutes.  The edges should be a bit golden.  If you use dry flaked coconut, place in oven for about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over top.  Wait a few moments and spread the chocolate over top.  Let cool completely and cut with a sharp knife into squares.