How to Make: Coconut Whipped Cream

I don't always have heavy cream on hand, but there's a good chance that I do have a can or two of coconut milk in the pantry. You can make coconut whipped cream with coconut milk, although the yield will be a little less than if you use coconut cream, which is what I have used in the recipe below. The trick is to chill the coconut cream or milk in the fridge for several hours -- overnight is best. If you're using coconut milk, you'll want to use the full-fat version.

When you're ready to make whipped cream, just take the can of coconut cream (or milk) out of the fridge and scrape out the hardened cream. You can reserve the remaining liquid for another purpose – using it in a smoothie would be a delicious option. Then, all it takes is a couple of minutes of whipping and, voila, you've got smooth and creamy coconut whipped cream! I sweetened my whipped cream with just a little powdered sugar, but be sure to taste the whipped cream before serving in case you want it a little sweeter. A little vanilla extract gives the cream the slightest vanilla flavor, although the coconut flavor will definitely shine through.

Coconut Whipped Cream
makes about 2 1/2 cups

1 14-ounce can organic coconut cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Chill the coconut cream in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure the can is standing upright.
2. When you are ready to make your whipped cream, chill the mixing bowl and whip attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes.
3. Take the can of coconut cream out of the refrigerator and remove the lid. Use a large spoon to scrape out thickened cream from the top of the can, being careful to leave the liquid behind. (You can use the leftover liquid in smoothies.)
4. Place the thickened cream in your chilled mixing bowl. Beat for 1-2 minutes on high speed until light and creamy. Then add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until creamy and smooth – about 1-2 minutes more. Taste and add more sweetener if necessary.
5. Use immediately or refrigerate – it will set up in the fridge the longer it is chilled. However, the whipped cream will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You can use it as-is from the refrigerator or whip again to get a lighter texture.
6. Coconut whipped cream is an excellent alternative for any instance where you would use dairy whipped cream -- such as on a sundae, as a decadent topping for waffles or French toast, or served over fruit.

What's Baking: Angel Food Cupcakes with Strawberries & Whipped Cream

These angel food cupcakes, topped with strawberries and whipped cream, are the quintessential summertime treat. 

 

Organically-grown strawberries have finally reached a price point that my wallet agrees with, and I can't help but buy a pound (or two, or three...) every time I make a grocery run. And while I am perfectly fine with eating them as they are, or quartering several as a topping for a bowl of yogurt, my favorite way to eat strawberries is with a generous slice of angel food cake. 

Mashed strawberries (with a little bit of sugar) and angel food cake was a common summertime dessert in our house when I was growing up. It's so simple, and yet so delicious. And given that a major component of angel food cake is egg whites, it's a relatively healthy dessert as well.

I've made angel food cake before, so I thought I would change things up and make angel food cupcakes. These cupcakes get a delicate burst of citrus flavor from the addition of orange extract and orange zest. If you don't have orange extract on hand, you can substitute vanilla extract, but don't skip the zest. These individual angel food cakes would make a delicious dessert to share at any summertime get-together. 

Angel Food Cupcakes (printer-friendly version)

makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup cake flour 

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon orange extract (or vanilla extract)
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

For the strawberry topping:
1 pint strawberried, hulled and quartered
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1. Make the strawberry topping: In a small bowl, combine the quartered strawberries and sugar. Let sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Use a potato masher or pastry blender to mash the strawberries. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with paper liners and spray each lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.
3. Add the granulated sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Process until super-fine (powdery) sugar forms, 1-2 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, 1/2 cup of super-fine sugar, and sea salt. Set aside.
5. Add the egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until frothy and foamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on, slowly add the remaining powdered sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium-high, and continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Beat in the orange extract and orange zest.
6. Remove the bowl from the electric mixer. Sprinkle about 1/4 of the flour mixture on top of the eggs, and gently fold in with a rubber spatula. Fold in the remaining flour mixture in three additions, being very careful not to overmix.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the prepped cupcake cups in messy mounds that slightly tower over top the liners. Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 14-16 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 3-5 minutes, then remove and set them on a wire rack to cool completely.
8. After the cupcakes have cooled, carefully remove them from their paper liners. Top with freshly whipped cream (recipe below) and the strawberry topping before serving.

(adapted from this Food Network recipe)

Sure, you could use the stuff from the can, but you can't beat (ha!) the taste of freshly whipped cream.

Freshly Whipped Cream

1 cup organic heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Chill your mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
2. Pour the heavy cream into the chilled mixing bowl, and whip at high speed. When cream begins to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla extract.
3. Continue to whip the cream until stiff peaks form.

What's Baking: Pumpkin Pie

You can't have a Thanksgiving Feast without a slice of pumpkin pie, right? At least this was the case in our household. By popular request, I made the traditional Libby's pumpkin pie recipe, only substituting in some fat-free evaporated milk for the regular kind. (Mainly because I had some richer plans for a whipped cream topping.) Clearly, this recipe is not exactly unprocessed -- and, horror upon horrors, I actually used a frozen pie crust! (Which, though I used the excuse that I've already packed my pie tins, it really was more that I was too lazy to make a crust from scratch . . .) But let's face it, there's a reason why this blog isn't called "An Unprocessed Life"! Sometimes convenience wins out. Anyway, on to the actual less processed part of this dessert -- the bourbon whipped cream! Making the whipped cream was the last hurrah for my Kitchenaid Mixer -- it is now happily boxed away and waiting to be opened back up and placed in a place of honor in our Philly kitchen (if we can find the room for it!)

Bourbon Whipped Cream

makes about one cup

1/2 cup organic heavy cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/2 tablespoon Maker's Mark bourbon

1. Chill the bowl of your mixer in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

2. Add the heavy cream, sugar, and bourbon to the chilled bowl.

3. Whisk on high until soft peaks form.

4. Serve a generous dollop on your slice of pie!

What's For Dinner (or Breakfast!): Sourdough French Toast

I put D in charge of dinner and after going through some options, he decided to do a breakfast-for-dinner dinner. Since I had a loaf of sourdough bread leftover from last night's chili festivities, I suggested he make french toast with it. A quick search on the Internet provided a recipe (from Panera, of all places!) for sourdough french toast. D amended it a little bit (mainly to decrease the servings) and instead of serving the french toast with strawberry rhubarb jam (which admittedly sounds quite good!), we instead served it up with some fresh berries, Grade B maple syrup, and Amaretto-spiked whipped cream. The sourdough bread definitely gave the french toast a bit of a tang, but overall, I think it turned out quite well.

Sourdough French Toast (printer-friendly version)

makes 6+ servings

1 1/2 cups liquid egg whites

1 1/2 cups organic half-and-half

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup raw sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

one loaf sourdough bread, sliced

2 tablespoon organic canola oil

1. Add the oil to an electric skillet and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and salt in a shallow bowl.

3. Generously soak each side of the sourdough slices in the egg mixture. Fry the soaked slices for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.

4. Serve with fresh berries, syrup, and whipped cream (see recipe below).

(adapted from this Panera recipe)

Amaretto Whipped Cream

makes 4+ servings

1/2 cup organic heavy cream

1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar

1 teaspoon Amaretto

1. Chill a mixing bowl in the freezer for a few minutes.

2. Add the heavy cream and whip on high speed.

3. When the cream begins to thicken, add the powdered sugar and Amaretto. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

4. Serve immediately.