Raw coconut & vanilla creme brûlée

We are finally in June, the time of strawberries and other summer fruit and vegetables- best season for eating your ‘rainbow’ as we always like to recommend to our clients in teaching clinic. It’s such an easy way to remember to bring variety and lots of fresh and bright coloured produce onto your plate.

Although a white fruit, I still count coconuts to one of my favourites. Our very pale skinned friends do not only have a lovely tropical summer flavour, they are also super versatile. You can eat them as a snack, dessert, breakfast or add them to a curry- making it my favourite ‘pre-exam’ cooking ingredient.Not to mention its oil and water, which are highly nutritious and delicious, it is not surprising that in the Philippines the coconut tree is called the ‘ tree of life’. The oil also makes a fabulous moisturizer and hair mask.

Using my fresh favourite,  this month I made a creme brûlée inspired raw coconut and vanilla dessert, I hope you like it.  Adding fresh strawberries or summer berries add some extra freshness and antioxidants.

Raw coconut & vanilla creme brûlée

Ingredients: serves 3-4
1 cup of coconut cream (fresh or canned), 1 cup of rice milk
1 small vanilla pod (scraped out content , keep pod and add to coffee, salt, matcha powder or coconut sugar to flavour it)
1 tbls of ground almonds
1 cup of fresh or desiccated coconut (soak desiccated coconut in rice milk for 2 hours or better over night)
1 tbsp psyllium husk
Organic maple syrup and strawberries or summer berries to garnish

Alternative ingredient if using a young coconut: serves 2
1 young coconut ( all water and scraped out flesh)
1 vanilla pod
1 tbsp ground almonds
1-2 tbsp psyllium  husk
Organic maple syrup and strawberries or summer berries to garnish

Method:
Start with soaking the desiccated coconut in the rice milk, or if using fresh coconut , peel and cut into smaller pieces for an easier blend. Then put all ingredients  apart from psyllium husk in a blender, blend until smooth. Last add the psyllium husk, blend again until you get a nice smooth texture. The mix will turn out quite thick, this is due to the psysllium husk. Please add a little more milk if you feel its too thick. Fill into dessert bowls and leave to set in the fridge for a couple of hours or over might.

When using a young coconut, simply place coconut water and flesh in a blender, add all other ingredients, again add psyllium husk last and blend until smooth, add a little bit of coconut cream or rice milk if you feel it’s too thick. It should have a very thick smoothie consistency but the psyllium husk will thicken the mix quite quickly and continue to thicken it. Fill into dessert bowls and leave to set in the fridge for a couple of hours or over might.

Serve with with a generous drizzle of maple syrup and fresh strawberries or summer berries.

Enjoy!