Passion Fruit Pudding

A few weeks ago I attempted making a passion fruit pudding for the second time. While it was a better effort than my first time (I didn't cook the mixture long enough, so it was more of a cream than a pudding), it wasn't passion fruity enough for me. I used store bought passion fruit juice which is great for drinking, but it felt like a watered down version of passion fruit when using in a recipe. I knew instantly that I needed to use real passion fruit and extract the pulp myself in order to get that pungent tart flavor I wanted in the pudding.

Luckily as I was perusing the aisles at Whole Foods this afternoon, I saw in a small corner a basket full of Passion Fruit! I picked up half a dozen and as soon  as I got home, I made fresh juice! If you've never seen or opened a Passion fruit, its kinda creepy looking. The pulp is gooey and filled with black seeds. Similar to pomegranate, you can eat the seeds too. I first scooped out the pulp and sieved it to allow all fresh juice into a bowl. With the remaining pulp I put in the food processor with the juice of 1 lime and blended for about 30 seconds. Sieve into the bowl to extract all the seeds. Set aside.

Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice of 6 passion fruit (see above)

In a sauce pan, heat 2 cups of the milk and bring to a boil. While the milk is warming up, in a heat proof bowl mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Make sure there are no clumps. Slowly add the remaining cup of milk to the mixture, beating constantly to ensure that you have a smoothe mixture. Add the egg into this mixture. Once the milk comes to a boil, remove from heat and slowly add into the other mixture.

You want to temper the remaining of the milk/cornstarch/egg mixture SLOWLY, so you don't end up "scrambling" the egg. Once you have it all mixed, return to the sauce pan and cook until it simmers. Add the vanilla extract and the fresh Passion Fruit Juice. Turn the heat off and continue mixing until the its got a creamy consistency. Pour into serving dishes and refrigerate for 3-4 hours before consuming.

Limber de Coco (Coconut Cream Popsicles)

One of my favorite things to eat while we visited my grandmother every summer in Puerto Rico, were her next- door neighbors limbers. A limber, is essentially a flavored ice pop, but my favorite has always been coconut. Traditionally they are not poured in actual ice pop molds, but made in either ice cube molds or it dixie cups. These popsicles are different to most, as they are a little creamy, with little bits of coconut texture without being overwhelmed by the coconut flakes. They also include cinnamon which should almost always go hand in had with anything coconut flavored.

Ingredients:

1 can evaporated milk
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup shredded coconut flakes

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients into a blender. Don't add any ice, these are NOT daiquiris' as we'll be freezing them over night. Blend on medium for about 3 minutes. Make sure that the coconut flakes have broken down, this helps get a creamier texture. Pour thru a sieve, to have a smooth but creamy texture and pour into Popsicle molds. (Feel free to use plastic dixie cups or ice cubes too!)

If you want an "adult" version of these you could always add a tbsp of rum as a decadent treat! And if you're concerned about the waistline, feel free to use fat free or low fat options for the evaporated milk and coconut milk.