coconut milk ice cream

I've been craving coconut milk ice cream for a while now. My mum generously gave me her freeze and make ice cream maker. You freeze the inner portion and then turn the hand crank to make the ice cream. So I was finally able to make coconut milk ice cream. I was inspired by this lovely post, but went the non-chocolate route. I didn't really measure anything. I used 1 can of coconut milk, a sprinkle of cinnamon, some toasted coconut and some agave. The only thing that I would have changed is the amount of agave that I put in. It was super delicious!!


Whisk together all the ingredients and then make the ice cream according to the directions of your ice cream maker. For me that meant pour into the frozen part and turn the crank.


Then enjoy with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. If you made it so it wasn't quite sweet enough add a drizzle of honey on top.

coconut cupcakes

You may remember that I made a coconut cake for my sister's bridal shower back in April. I realized that this recipe would also make great coconut cupcakes. So that's what I did. It helped a lot with the dryness of the cake to make them in cupcake form instead. I also didn't bake them as long. I was also making these so that my roommate could enjoy them as well, so I adjusted the recipe somewhat from my coconut cake recipe. I also cut the recipe in half as I didn't need as much batter for the cupcakes as I needed for a three layer cake.

Coconut Cupcakes
1/2 cup butter
1 cup coconut sugar
1 2/3 cups flour (I used unbleached all-purpose, and this was approximate)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
6 Tbsp. applesauce
2 Tbsp. tapioca flour
dash cinnamon
sprinkle nutmeg
toasted coconut

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.


Add the tapioca flour and applesauce.


Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Fill cupcake wrappers and bake at 350* for about 15 minutes. I iced these cupcakes with the remaining frosting that I had from the coconut cake and sprinkled them with toasted coconut. Delicious.

coconut cake

I saw this recipe for coconut cake in a cookbook I received as a Christmas present this last Christmas, and I have been wanting to make it since then. As it has eggs in it, I figured my sister's bridal shower was the perfect opportunity for me to try this recipe.

Coconut Cake
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup dark brown sugar and 1 cup coconut sugar)
4 large eggs
2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk (I used coconut milk)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup toasted coconut

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture and the milk alternately to the butter mixture. Stir in the toasted coconut and pour the batter into 3 greased 9 inch cake pans.* Bake at 350* for 18-20 minutes. I started with 15 minutes and then added another 3, but mine came out a little dry, so they may have been slightly over cooked.

Buttercream Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1-2 Tbsp. milk (I used almond milk, but alternately you could use coconut milk)
1 tsp. coconut rum

Combine the butter and sugar and then add the vanilla, milk and rum. Beat until smooth and the consistency to frost the cake. To frost: Place the bottom layer on the cake plate, brush with coconut milk and a layer of frosting. Continue with the layers in the same way and top with toasted coconut.

As I said above, this turned out a little drier than I really wanted it to be, but that may have been due to being a little overcooked. I also would like to try this with just two layers instead of three because I think the layers were a little thin which could also have caused it to be a little drier. All together, though, I liked this cake fairly well and with a little tweaking I think it could be really fantastic, but then I do have a slight obsession with coconut.

*Note: I have trouble getting my cakes to come out of the cake pans easily, so I cut a paper towel the size of the bottom of the pan and place that in the bottom and then spray the pan with cooking spray. The cake comes out easily, and then the paper towel just peels off the bottom.

cupcake madness continues. . .

I'm not even kidding you. . .I am obsessed with making cupcakes right now. . .now if I could just get someone to pay me to make them. . .

I decided to make some to take to a group I go to with church, and decided to make mango cupcakes with buttercream frosting and coconut off of mingmakescupcakes.yolasite.com.

My recipe with changes is as follows. . .fair warning: this recipe did not turn out, so I'm going to have to try it again as I have a fairly good idea what went wrong. I also was making this so that my roommate could eat them, so the recipe is adjusted for that as well.

Mango Cupcakes
1 cup flour (I used tapioca flour. . .that was my big mistake)
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 3 Tbsp applesauce
1/2 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar)
approximately 2 mangoes diced and mashed
1/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients.

Bake at 350* for 20 minutes


The result. . .no bueno! I will be trying these again with different flour as I think that was the major problem. Since the cupcakes did not turn out, I did not end up making the frosting.

More cupcakes to come. . .

coconut pudding

I have a small confession. . .I adore coconut. . .okay, maybe I'm mildly obsessed with coconut. I have been searching for a coconut pudding recipe for a while. I tried to make one using rice, but it didn't turn out well at all, so then I tried approach number two. I decided to alter a chocolate pudding recipe instead of finding a coconut pudding one. My only real concern with making pudding was the thickening agent. Cornstarch is out because my roommate is allergic to corn. I decided to try using rice flour instead of cornstarch. Rice is a thickening agent as well as flour, so I figured it would work well. I altered a recipe from allrecipes.com.

In a medium saucepan stir together:
1/2 c. coconut sugar
1/4 c. white rice flour
a pinch of salt


Add 2 3/4 c. milk of choice (I used about 1 3/4 c. coconut milk and 1 c. almond milk).



Stir over medium heat until it thickens so that it coats a spoon. Then stir in toasted coconut flakes (I think I used about a cup or 1 1/2 cups). I also added a dash of cinnamon (because let's be honest here. . .I'm mildly obsessed with cinnamon as well).


The result was delicious!! Coconut pudding success after a coconut pudding failure. It doesn't get much sweeter than that.

why the oscars were invented

I'm not entirely sure why the Oscars came to be, but I do know why I think they did. I think the Oscars were invented so that my friends and I would have a great excuse to get dressed up and throw a party. I didn't do the best about taking pictures of everything I made, but I did try. . .I will hopefully get better about that as this project continues.

The first thing I made were tiny chocolate cakes. My roommate has this fantastic mold for tiny cakes, so we thought we would try using it. I made chocolate cake to use in the molds, and the cake turned out well. I adjusted it a bit to accommodate my roomie, but sometimes you just can't win all fights. One of the things that my roommate is allergic to is chocolate, so these cakes were already against the rules, but I was going to try to make them as good as possible.

I started with a favorite chocolate cake recipe: Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake. Yum. I did a half batch because the full batch makes enough for two 9" layers and I just needed enough for a pan of baby cakes. I went ahead and used unbleached all-purpose flour, but I chose not to use eggs. Instead I used applesauce and a tiny bit more baking soda than the recipe called for. I also added a touch of coconut rum, Kahlua, cinnamon and nutmeg.



The cakes turned out well with the ultimate verdict being that they were okay for my roommate. She is allergic to wheat and chocolate but those were the only things she was allergic to in these cakes. I also liked the cake without the eggs. I might have to try that when I make this as a cake again.


I love all things British, in case you don't know that about me. I especially love the tradition of afternoon tea. Taking a bit of a break in the afternoon to just have a cuppa and enjoy life for a moment. So, yes, I took a it of a tea break in the middle of my cooking.

Okay, moving on. . .I also made a beef and bean dip to eat with tortilla chips. I didn't have a recipe, so I just kind of made it up as I went. I started with half of a yellow onion diced up (I used the other half for guacamole), a clove of garlic diced, and some olive oil in a pan over medium low heat. I like to let these cook for just a little bit before adding the beef.


Let's talk about seasoning for a minute. I love using seasonings. Almost every time I cook, I use nearly every spice in my cupboard. I'm not even kidding you. I added all of these to my onion and garlic mixture. One of my pet peeves about American cooking is that we don't use spices enough. There is so much salt and sugar in everything we eat that we don't taste our food enough to know if there is seasoning in it. If you cut the sugar and salt out of most American food, there is no flavor. I love flavor. I love seasonings. Amen.


Then I added the beef and browned it. Just a side note, this is one of the first things that I learned to do in the kitchen. I have been browning beef for most of my life. It's kind of like second nature to me at this point.


After I drained the grease off, I added one can of black beans and part of a can of tomato sauce. Make sure you check the seasonings at this point. If you need more of anything add it. I usually do another round of all the spices and taste it to make sure I like the flavor. Then I let it simmer for just a bit so that it thickens a bit.


I put it in an oven proof bowl and covered the top with cheese. Let's be honest, can you really get too much cheese? Load it up! I then put it in the fridge and about 15 minutes before I put it out, I put it in a 350* oven until the cheese was melted. I then flipped the broiler on high and let the cheese get brown and bubbly.


The party was a success, and I was happy to have an excuse to cook for my friends and savor their presence in my home. So fun!

Coconut Macaroons

Okay, let's walk through how I find a recipe. My roommate says something like: "Hmmm. . .coconut macaroons sound good." I then proceed to search for coconut macaroon recipes that I think would work and sound good. After looking at five or six recipes to get a good general idea of what goes into coconut macaroons, I then settle on a recipe to alter. Like this one from allrecipes.com

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2-3/4 cups flaked coconut
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Then I begin my alterations.* Coconut flour for all-purpose. Coconut milk for sweetened condensed milk. Add coconut sugar and cinnamon for a little sweetness and spice. And since I am currently out of vanilla, omit the vanilla. And here is the final cast of characters with nothing that my roomie is allergic to.


Mix it all together, and then form into balls and place on a cookie sheet. The shredded coconut that I had on hand was finely shredded coconut, but these would look more macaroon-esque if you had coconut that is less finely shredded.


Bake at 350 for 15 minutes (or more or less depending on your oven). You just want them to be browned aka the coconut to be toasted.



These got the roommate stamp of approval. Things I would change for next time: less finely shredded coconut, add vanilla, and maybe a tiny bit more cinnamon.

*Note: Something you should know about the way I cook. I rarely actually measure anything, so these measurements are approximate. Mix and taste is the way I go.