what to do with leftover cream of coconut?

does anyone have a dessert recipe that calls for less than a can of coconut cream? i have about a cup and i would hate to throw it out.

The Coco Lopez website has a whole section of recipes, from drinks to breads to desserts. One of them has a bad url, but the idea seemed sound: Coco Lopez pancakes (or you could easily make French Toast as well) Good luck!

Is it the sweetened coconut cream (like for drinks) or the coconut milk cream?

I freeze the latter and then use it in curries or making rice. Sometimes I make rice pudding with coconut milk/cream, too.

cook rice and beans of choice (try pigeon peas) and sub coconut milk for some of the water. best with lots of onion, garlic, thyme and sauteed pig meat of some kind.

I usually freeze any leftover coconut cream - defrosted, works fine for cooking.

Jyoti

Eat it with a spoon?

I've never considered coconut cream "leftover." I think of it as "cook's bonus."

leek wrote:cook rice and beans of choice (try pigeon peas) and sub coconut milk for some of the water. best with lots of onion, garlic, thyme and sauteed pig meat of some kind.

leek - would you do that with cream of coconut, too, or just coconut milk? (Cream of coconut is really sweet.) Just checking . . .

Run it through a blender with a little pineapple juice, some rum and some ice and make pina coladas.

=R=

I think we really have to clarify WHAT we're eating, lol.

There is a Coco Lopez product, called Cream of Coconut that has gums and sweeteners in it that some of us are referring to. It's like shortening in it's consistency.

Then there is Coconut Cream, which is a can of the thick stuff on the top of the can of coconut milk. Besides some sulfite, it is simply really thick, fatty coconut milk. It's more like lightly whipped cream in consistency.

ViewsAskew wrote:I think we really have to clarify WHAT we're eating, lol.

There is a Coco Lopez product, called Cream of Coconut that has gums and sweeteners in it that some of us are referring to. It's like shortening in it's consistency.

Then there is Coconut Cream, which is a can of the thick stuff on the top of the can of coconut milk. Besides some sulfite, it is simply really thick, fatty coconut milk. It's more like lightly whipped cream in consistency.

I just buy the "straight" stuff. Didn't even know there was a sweetened, gum-laden, shortening-like coconut substance. Interesting. What would you use it for?

Cynthia wrote:
I just buy the "straight" stuff. Didn't even know there was a sweetened, gum-laden, shortening-like coconut substance. Interesting. What would you use it for?

Pina Coladas

aschie30 wrote:

leek wrote:cook rice and beans of choice (try pigeon peas) and sub coconut milk for some of the water. best with lots of onion, garlic, thyme and sauteed pig meat of some kind.

leek - would you do that with cream of coconut, too, or just coconut milk? (Cream of coconut is really sweet.) Just checking . . .

OH, um. Coconut milk. I guess I've never gotten coconut cream you cook with, unless it was for Pina Coladas, I was thinking you meant the same thing as coconut milk. Sorry.

leek wrote:

aschie30 wrote:

leek wrote:cook rice and beans of choice (try pigeon peas) and sub coconut milk for some of the water. best with lots of onion, garlic, thyme and sauteed pig meat of some kind.

leek - would you do that with cream of coconut, too, or just coconut milk? (Cream of coconut is really sweet.) Just checking . . .

OH, um. Coconut milk. I guess I've never gotten coconut cream you cook with, unless it was for Pina Coladas, I was thinking you meant the same thing as coconut milk. Sorry.

It's amazing how things can be so confusing - they all use the same word: coconut and some use milk or cream, too. Then there is coconut water.... It all depends on the order of the words as to what you're dealing with.

Coconut milk - it's thickish, like half and half, often has thick stuff floating on the top that you shake back in before you open it, or you open it and skim the stuff off the top for using in specific ways. Sometimes there are light versions. They have skimmed the thick yummy stuff off to reduce the calories.

Coconut cream - it's very thick and is basically the stuff you are shaking back into the above coconut milk, but only the thick stuff. Really caloric and important in some dessert recipes.

Both of these are used in making curries, desserts, rice dishes, etc. These are not sweetened, but have a naturally sweet taste.

Cream of Coconut - this is a concoction made for bars to make Pina Coladas. This is sweeeeeeet, thickened with gums, and has a mild coconut flavor. Some people try to make Pina Coladas with the above coconut cream and are disappointed they don't taste the same as a bartender makes.

Coconut Water - this is the water from the coconut. You can drink it (it's sold in many Asian stores), use it as a smoothie base, or use it in some cooking. Actually, when you make a Pina Colada, this is the stuff that is used as the base for the above cream of coconut product. They sweeten it and add thickeners. If you are making Pina Coladas at home and don't have Cream of Coconut, you can sub this along with some sweetener. It won't be as thick, but it will taste similar. Add a bit of xanthan or guar gum, and it will taste almost identical.

I usually buy my coconut stuff in Asian grocery stores, which is probably why I didn't know about the stuff made specifically for use at bars. Of course, that explains why I prefer homemade piña coladas to those in bars, which I find too sweet.

Add unsweetened coconut milk, sugar to taste, and lime juice/zest, and make coconut/lime sorbet. (Even better if you throw in a spoonful of dark rum.)

How much do you have left over?

Mango coladas are another lovely option.

Hi,

If I don't have an immediate use, I freeze it in ice cube trays. Depending on your tray, it is roughly a tablespoon. I did this recently with harisa, because I don't know when I will need it again.

Just remember to label the freezer bag.

Regards

Make a coconut panna cotta. Just sub coconut milk (or cream!) for some or all of the buttermilk in Gale Gand's recipe; add a little coconut extract, too, in addition to the vanilla bean. Toast some coconut in the oven - 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes; keep an eye on it - and spinkle over top after unmolding. Tremendous do-ahead dessert, and easy as a mud pie. Especially good on a hot evening, should we eve actually have one this summer.

I have had a pretty good coconut poke cake using cream of coconut.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-of-C ... etail.aspx

thanks for everyone's input! to clarify, this is cream of coconut (like the coco lopez brand) which i used to make pina coladas, not coconut milk or the cream from the top.

the pancakes sound pretty good - i may go for those.

FYI, last summer I kept cream of coconut in my refrigerator for a long, long, long time....nothing adverse happened to it. I'd make a pina colada every so often over the summer until it ran out. Not sure how long it would keep safely, but it does have a slew of perservatives and sugar. Unless you want to make something else with it, my guess is you could easily keep it several weeks, if not at least a month (or two or three...)

Cook's Illustrated has a very nice recipe for coconut cream pie using cream of coconut. The fact that the cream is very sweet and gooey is not a problem if you're putting it into pudding, and it gives it a strong, but not artificial coconut flavor.