Coconut Pancakes with Mango-Honey Compote

I am procrastinating.

I don't wanna write another damn paper.

Ironically it's on chronic stress - apropos, eh?

Instead I will tell you about the coconut pancakes I made the other night.

They were outstanding.

My husband frequently sends me text messages about what he's decided he wants for dinner. Unless I've got something that requires a ton of preparation, I usually let him have his way.

This time he wanted pancakes.

For dinner.

I hate pancakes - what's the point of a simple, empty carb swimming in sugary syrup? The calories just aren't worth it to me.

But, for him I will make exceptions (and I'd eaten a huge Subway sandwich for lunch so I only ate what you see on the plate - not much of a sacrifice if you ask me).

He also loves coconut and mangoes - Thai sticky rice with mangoes is a menu staple in our house - so I decided I'd make coconut pancakes and incorporate the mangoes somehow. The only problem with making recipes with a lot of coconut is the exorbitant amount of saturated fat present in nearly all coconut products. One cup of coconut milk alone contains 45 grams of fat. As nihilistic as I have been in the past towards my arteries, I don't hate them that much.

Because I wanted to make the husband happy with coconut pancakes and mangoes I decided to use 2% evaporated milk with a teaspoon of coconut extract. Tastes like coconut with a mere fraction of the fat. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

I'm not going to lie, I fudged on these pancakes. I had some Jiffy Baking Mix languishing in the drawer that I needed to use up - so I did. And they were still fabulous.

Fast, easy, and relatively low-fat coconut pancakes - if anyone objects to using a boxed mix they can feel free to just alter their own pancake recipe. This one is good.


Coconut Pancakes with Mango-Honey Compote

Makes 4 servings

2 cups Jiffy Baking Mix/ Bisquick Mix
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup shredded coconut

1 mango, in small dice
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water

Make the compote:

Combine mango, honey, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium to low heat until mango is softened and falling apart and majority of liquid has evaporated.

Make the pancakes:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or pitcher - blend with whisk or immersion blender (immersion blender will chop up the coconut more). Cook over medium heat in a butter greased skillet for approximately 2 1/2 minutes each side, or until golden brown.

Serve with mango-honey compote. Garnish with micro or chopped mint if desired.

Coconut Toile

As the month January winds down it is once again time for the Daring Baker's challenge.



This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Karen's creation this month is particularly eye-catching, so be sure to visit Bake My Day. It appears Zorra's site is having a little bit of difficulty, but I'm sure it will be remedied soon.

A tuile (French for 'tile') is a small, thin, crisp cookie that is molded over a cylindrical object while still hot from the oven. When the cookie cools it holds its shape, and when done in the traditional method resembles the curved roofing tile from which it draws its name.



Upon discovering this month's challenge I was a little ho-hum about it. To be honest I wasn't able to muster a whole lot of enthusiasm about it until I was popping them into my mouth this evening, then I was mightily pleased. I've just been so busy this month it's been unrealistic to pop in the kitchen to whip up something new.

Thankfully this challenge was a breeze, and with the latitude given by the hosts it ended up being quite enjoyable. We were given three separate recipes to experiment with: sweet, nougatine, and savory. The rules instructed us to attempt at least one recipe of pastry, mold them however we saw fit, and fill them with something light. I had originally planned on trying a savory version, but couldn't decide on a suitable filling. When I realized on the 27th that I still hadn't made the tuile yet, I quickly decided upon a sweet tuile with coconut sorbet, chopped mango, and toasted coconut. I also decided against shaping them in the traditional method and instead made tiny cups by forming them in a muffin pan.

The recipe came together perfectly on the first try. My only real problem came when the bag I was using to pipe onto the parchment lined baking sheet split its seam and exploded pastry batter all over my counter. Beyond that mishap everything was smooth sailing - save for burning the ever loving hell out of my fingers while trying to mold them. The coconut sorbet and mango paired beautifully, as the two flavors usually do. Mr. TA loved this challenge in particular, wolfing down the entire batch whilst standing in the kitchen - pint of sorbet wide open, mango mashed on the cutting board, and toasted coconut finding refuge all over the counter and floor - an assembly line of tuile-y goodness.



Although I might have been apathetic about this challenge at the beginning of the month, I'm actually quite excited to see where I can apply this in the future. The cups are really quite sturdy, can be made days ahead with ease, and look quite stunning. The possibilities truly are endless with these recipes. I encourage you to try them yourself and see where it takes you.

I'm thinking savory cornets with crab salad, vanilla bean cups with rosewater-tapioca pudding, chocolate-mint tuiles with milk chocolate mousse...

Thank you very much to Karen and Zorra for picking such a wonderful challenge. I think this is one of the first recipes we've had that I can see myself making again and again. Be sure to check out the the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see some amazing creations this month from the other Daring Bakers.

Recipes available at Bake My Day...

Fug Tong Gang Buad

Fug tong gang buad is a Thai dessert or side dish of squash cooked in coconut milk and palm sugar. Characteristic of most Thai sweets there is a lovely play of salty on sweet to mix up the substantial squash pieces. The recipe traditionally calls for pumpkins, which are available year round in Thailand, but a substitute of any yellow meat squash will suffice. I used a kabocha squash (yes I know, it's Japanese) and although I nearly lopped off a finger or two trying to peel the sucker it gave great flavor to the finished dish.

One of Mr. TA's favorite things to eat is Thai sticky rice and mangoes. It's a traditional Thai dessert of steamed glutinous rice soaked in sweetened coconut milk and served with sliced mangoes. He requests it on a near weekly basis, so I try to ration it out. Coconut milk isn't exactly a health food. So when my sister told me about this website and I found the recipe for squash cooked in coconut milk I thought it would be received equally well. He was a little disappointed after arriving home to the familiar scent of warmed coconut milk to not find sticky rice steaming, but after trying the squash I think he enjoyed it quite well. You know those people who you can read their emotions on their face like a book? Mr. TA is not one of those people. He'll give a mediocre reaction to a meal to only question weeks later why he haven't had that totally awesome blah-blah-blah. It's quite an interesting life... So I'll have to assume the grunt of approval coupled with the "Yeah, it's pretty good." means it gains approval for a repeat performance.



I would recommend that if attempting this with a kabocha instead of a pumpkin you halve, seed, quarter and then chop the skin off with a knife in controlled downward motions. Then to get the remaining stubborn green off use a sharp vegetable peeler. It's a bit of a chore, but I can't imagine anyone's going to want to cook some huge ass 15 lb. pumpkin in coconut milk. I also would not recommend using an acorn squash, you're peeling this sucker, you really want to attempt that with an acorn squash? Save your digits and don't even bother. Unless you can get someone else to do it for you, then by all means have at it.

One important part about this recipe is to ensure your coconut milk is not too creamy. When boiled coconut milk nearly always curdles, so you have to be careful while cooking. So, don't be tempted to use all coconut milk, it won't end well. Start it off at medium heat, when it really starts producing steam turn it down to medium low, then low when it starts to simmer. By that time it should be fully cooked through. It's really much easier than I made it sound. Just keep adjusting the heat level so it doesn't boil.

On a final note, squash is extremely good for you - you should eat as much as possible over the winter months. And..uh..just because this is filled with sugar and fat from the coconut milk doesn't mean it's not also healthy...right?

Just don't burst my bubble...



Fug Tong Gang Buad

Serves 4

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pumpkin, or other yellow meat squash
1/3 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 cup water

Peel the squash, chop into 1/2 in. dice. Add all ingredients to 3 qt saucepan and heat over medium until steam rises rapidly. Do not allow to boil, the coconut milk will curdle. Turn heat down to medium low, stirring occasionally. When it starts to simmer turn to low heat. Remove from heat when squash is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately or cover with lid. Tastes equally good warm, room temp, or cold.