Even though my husband dislikes coconut, I thought I’d give this a try, and we were both glad that I did.  The custard and the whipped cream are fantastic

, with a subtle rum-like-but-not-boozy-at-all flavor.  My husband LOVED the whipped cream on this, did not like the coconut texture but really liked the custard, and brightened up considerably when I told him that I’d make it again.  WITH BANANAS instead of coconut.

Fantastic recipe, even though I forgot to add the bits of butter to the custard, and it was a bit too stiff as a result.  Definitely on the repeat list!

This week, Judy of Judy’s Gross Eats chose Dorie’s marshmallows, yet another recipe that I had bookmarked in her wonderful book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. I also had a bunch of toasted coconut left over from Christmas baking. Hhhm. Marshmallows + coconut = toasted coconut marshmallows!

I must say, even though I really wanted to make these, I’m not a marshmallow fan, or a coconut fan, so I said to myself, “Self, this week you are safe. You will get to make something that will not tempt you, and you and your thighs will breath a sigh of relief.” I was wrong. Foiled again! Thus, my sixty minutes on the elliptical machine at the gym Monday morning. These little morsels are good! No, they aren’t an Extraordinary French Lemon Creme Tart, but they are a lot of fun to make and to eat, and I can just imagine them in a s’more.

I was out of light corn syrup, but (believe it or not) I did have glucose syrup on hand. Glucose syrup is used by professional bakers instead of corn syrup to prevent crystallization. It’s actually healthier for you than corn syrup, and I purchased mine at La Cuisine in Alexandria, Virginia. I also made the marshmallows in a disposable aluminum 8-inch square pan instead of a baking sheet for two reasons: (1) I wanted them to be really thick, and (2) if they were difficult to remove from the pan, I could always cut it away.

The sides of the pan were the only parts of it that I oiled. I covered the bottom with toasted coconut, spooned the mixture into the pan, and topped with more coconut. That was it! I had no trouble at all getting the marshmallows out of the pan, and they were nice and thick, just as I had hoped. Next time, I think I’ll make peppermint marshmallows to float in some hot chocolate.

For more marshmallows, be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll, and see Judy’s Gross Eats for the recipe. Next week, Amanda of Slow Like Honey has chosen Bills Big Carrot Cake. Master Chow loves carrot cake, and he’s grateful that he was able to take a break from the sugar train this week (he doesn’t like coconut or marshmallows, either). I’m sure he’ll make up for it next week!

P.S.  If you had trouble with your marshmallows setting up, check the expiration date on the gelatin.  If it had expired, that could be the reason the gelatin separated out of the mixture.

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Hosted by Peabody, at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, another Daring Baker with a fun and drool-worthy blog!

As is clear from the picture above, we had to slice into the cake – we couldn’t wait until Saturday, but there’s plenty left for a virtual housewarming. The recipe is adapted from yet another Ina Garten winner from her book, Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You’ll Make Over and Over Again.
I used buttermilk instead of plain milk, and increased the amount of almond extract in the frosting. I also decided to make my own passion fruit (lilikoi) curd using Goya brand frozen passion fruit pulp, which some of you may be lucky to find in your frozen food section under its Spanish name, maracuya. In my opinion, ambrosia, that legendary food of the gods, must taste like passion fruit. I know I’m right on this, so there’s no sense arguing about it!

Instead of putting frosting between the layers, I used the passion fruit curd. I actually had enough curd to make the cake, despite spooning it into my mouth at any given opportunity. “Oh, I’ve opened the refrigerator – I’d better check on the curd,” or “I see it’s a full moon out tonight – I’d better check on the curd.” And the always popular, “I’ll go on a diet tomorrow. I’d better check on the curd.”

In the end, the result: a dense but moist layer cake, laced with almond and coconut, sharpened by the brilliant, intense flavor of the passion fruit. For what it’s worth, Master Chow dislikes coconut, and he really liked this cake. He could taste the coconut, but it was not overpowering. And, hey, who doesn’t like ambrosia? See you at Peabody’s!

Note: My recipe for the lilikoi (passion fruit) curd came from The Hali’imaile General Store Cookbook: Homecooking from Maui, which I can’t seem to find in my pile of books at the moment. When I do, I promise to update this post with the recipe. Please do not think that you can use a lemon curd recipe and substitute passion fruit for the lemon – it won’t work. Passion fruit needs more sugar. If you absolutely can’t wait and want to make this immediately, look for some bottled curd (Heidi vouches for one on her blog), or you may consider using this recipe. Now, I haven’t used that recipe, but the restaurant from which it comes, Chef Mavro, is considered by some to be one of the best in the nation.
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