Terra Americana

By necessity, my kitchen is one without lots of gadgets.  I collected them until I moved to a tiny flat in Devon England.  There I found I needed little to make something special.  The kitchens I have enjoyed in Asia have told the same tale.  So now, if I did not inherit it from one of my grandmothers or cant borrow it from my mother, I figure I really have no need.  The one exception is a coeur à la crème mold.  Along a list of cookbooks, it is something I haunt antique stores, junk shops and flea markets in search of.

To me coeur à la crème is one of those quintessential desserts that spells out special occasion.  While it is a recipe without pretense, I put the mere notion of it on a pedestal.  A diet and no nonsense cheese strainer made this this twist on Dorie's classic a simple yet sublime treat for my valentine.

• 12oz package Firm Silken Tofu
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 13oz can Coconut Milk
• 1 cup Coconut Flour
• 1/4 cup Xylitol
• 1 tbsp of our Orange Vanilla Sugar
• 1/2 cup Desiccated Coconut
• 12 oz frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup of our Orange Vanilla Sugar

If you are interested in our Orange Vanilla Sugar you can purchase it here.

Using a hand blender, whip tofu, lemon, sea salt and coconut milk.  Fold in coconut flour, xylitol, Orange Vanilla Sugar and coconut.  Line a strainer with butter muslin  and pour the batter into it.  Fold the sides of the muslin on top.  Place in a bowl and refrigerate for 3 days, pouring the draining liquid from the bowl every day.

Unwrap from the mold and serve on a cake tray drizzled with raspberries mixed with Orange Vanilla Sugar.

I loved serving this with Cinnamon Spice Cookies.  The combination is reminscent of cheese cake with graham cracker crust.

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table.

More from this classic cookbook:

• Cocoa Sables
• Coconut Friands
• Long and Slow Apples
• Crab & Grapefruit Salad

Photo Credit: Julie T Cecchini