Coconut Sponge Cake, Paw Paw Ice Cream, Paw Paw Puree, Vanilla Coconut Cream, Kiwi Berry, Roasted Coconut Chips, Coconut Powder, Pineapple Ice
You can really find some interesting things when you step outside of your boring supermarket routine and head to a few Farmer's Markets. You'll find foods that actually have flavor and color in many varieties. And you will most likely find a few things that you never even knew existed. This dish showcases a couple of examples of fruit, grown in the Mid Atlantic region, that I discovered over the last few years. Adding to the intrigue of these foods is the fact that they both taste as though they are from somewhere else. Somewhere warm and tropical where they would grow all year round by the beach. One is the Paw Paw or "Pennsylvania Papaya" that grows wild throughout this area of the country. A paw paw looks just like a mango, has the texture of a ripe banana and tastes like papaya. The other is the Kiwi Berry which looks like a smaller hairless kiwi. They grow on vines and have a flavor between a real kiwi and a white grape. I decided to showcase these weird fruits in a dessert by pairing up their tropical flavors with some fruit that actually does grow in a tropical climate.
I made a really simple coconut sponge cake which I broke up into pieces and scattered on the plate. Joining the cake are some roasted coconut chips and a coconut powder made by combining coconut cream with maltodextrin.
I made the vanilla coconut cream by chilling a can of coconut cream overnight and then whipping it with some vanilla bean paste. This process is great as a vegan substitute in any recipe calling for whipped cream.
I carefully broke down 5 of the paw paws. These are a huge pain-in-the-ass to work with as they are loaded with big seeds. Aside from them being a wild fruit this is the main reason that you will never see a paw paw in a supermarket. I cooked the paw paw pulp with some sugar, water and ascorbic acid for a few minutes to soften it up before pureeing it. I reserved some of the puree and used it as you see above. The rest of the puree was made into an ice cream by combining it with milk, heavy cream, vanilla, sugar and egg yolks. I also pureed some pineapple with sugar and froze it solid. I scraped it with a fork creating a pineapple ice or "granita". I finished the dish off with some of the kiwi berries that I simply sliced in half.
Product:
Organic Paw Paws - Culton Organics
New Jersey Kiwi Berries - Buzby Farms
I made a really simple coconut sponge cake which I broke up into pieces and scattered on the plate. Joining the cake are some roasted coconut chips and a coconut powder made by combining coconut cream with maltodextrin.
I made the vanilla coconut cream by chilling a can of coconut cream overnight and then whipping it with some vanilla bean paste. This process is great as a vegan substitute in any recipe calling for whipped cream.
I carefully broke down 5 of the paw paws. These are a huge pain-in-the-ass to work with as they are loaded with big seeds. Aside from them being a wild fruit this is the main reason that you will never see a paw paw in a supermarket. I cooked the paw paw pulp with some sugar, water and ascorbic acid for a few minutes to soften it up before pureeing it. I reserved some of the puree and used it as you see above. The rest of the puree was made into an ice cream by combining it with milk, heavy cream, vanilla, sugar and egg yolks. I also pureed some pineapple with sugar and froze it solid. I scraped it with a fork creating a pineapple ice or "granita". I finished the dish off with some of the kiwi berries that I simply sliced in half.
Product:
Organic Paw Paws - Culton Organics
New Jersey Kiwi Berries - Buzby Farms
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