Coconut Milk Custard With Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
4.3
(14)
Active Time
25 minutes
Total Time
About 2 1/2 hours
End your meal with this creamy, coconut milk custard topped with a sweet-tart fruit compote and crunchy pistachios.
Ingredients
Serves 8
Special equipment:
Preparation
Step 1
Blend coconut and 4 1/2 cups warm water in a blender until creamy, 2-3 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a large bowl, squeezing the cheesecloth to extract all of the coconut milk. Discard coconut solids.
Step 2
Vigorously whisk egg yolks and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan until mixture is pale and smooth, 2-3 minutes. Whisk in potato starch and salt. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; reserve pod for another use. Gradually whisk in coconut milk.
Step 3
Set saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens to a custard-like consistency and coats the back of the spoon, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and use a rubber spatula to push custard through another fine-mesh strainer into another large bowl. Let cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Divide custard evenly into ramekins (about 1/2 cup custard per ramekin) and chill until set, 2-3 hours.
Step 4
Meanwhile, cook rhubarb, strawberries, and brown sugar in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is soft and juicy, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool, then chill until ready to serve.
Step 5
To serve, top custards with strawberry-rhubarb compote and sprinkle with pistachios.
Custard in ramekins can be made up to 2 days in advance, covered with plastic, and stored in the refrigerator.
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Reviews (14)
Back to TopI used unsweetened coconut milk instead of going through all the fuss in Step 1. Probably I used the corrected amount of liquid for 4 ramekins (I actually used Martini glasses to serve ice cold). I For the compote I added star-ani e to the fruit that ended up in an interesting backtaste. Doing it again for 8 tomorrow.
DC
Switzerland
5/3/2023
Had the exact same experience as the previous two reviewers. Thickened up fine on stove and tasted great, leaving us very excited for dessert later on. After removing from the refrigerator, it was runny and not custard-like at all. Hugely disappointing.
lolaorourke591
Seattle
6/7/2021
How many cans of coconut milk would you use?
jgoodgold
3/21/2018
How could canned coconut milk be used? What amount should be used insetead if making your own?
jgoodgold
Chicago
3/21/2018
Yummy, creamy dessert option. Loved the Strawberry Rhubarb compote topping. I adore coconut and highly recommend using store bought coconut milk as a healthy, lactose free ingredient. After frantic, post Passover search for potato starch, I came up empty-handed. Heck, I used Corn starch, reduced amount by two tablespoons (I doubled recipe) with great success. Vanilla flavor (used beans and extract) was good. Future repeat of recipe beckons a light lemon flavor.. might be fun. A swirled a dollop of fruit in bottom glass custard dish added custard. Chilled three hours and gilded lily with glorious swirl of Ruby colored compote. My daughter felt a dab of whipped cream would have been delightful..but we resisted temptation 😊
Anonymous
Boston ma
6/18/2017
Loved the coconut flavor, and the combo of tangy fruit compote with creamy custard was perfect for a lighter dessert. Instead of shredded coconut I skipped that step and used two cans of coconut milk in the custard - easy and the texture turned out perfectly fine. Also added ground cinnamon and ginger in the custard, and lime zest in the fruit compote. Yum.
haneye
Seattle, WA
6/4/2017
I made this for Easter Brunch and it turned out amazing! I followed the recipe exactly except that I did not put the custard in individual cups. I used a large bowl. Everyone loved this. I would highly recommend! NOTE: You can substitute the rhubarb for raspberries or mixed berries, if not in season.
stambrin
Fanwood, NJ
4/20/2017
Incredibly, annoyingly disappointing. The flavor was great. Custard thickened nicely as it cooked. I followed the recipe and took it off the heat after it thickened and coated the back of a spoon, about 180F. Then I chilled it. The next morning, it was thinner and looser than it had been when it was hot, like creme anglaise. It was for Easter brunch, so there was nothing I could do to try to fix it at that point. We ate coconut custard soup with rhubarb and berries. After much discussion with family members (all experienced cooks, as I am) trying to figure out what happened, we finally looked it up. It turns out that egg yolks contain a starch-digesting enzyme called alpha-amylase that is only deactivated at temperatures close to boiling. If it's not deactivated, the enzyme eats up all the starch gel and leaves only the liquid behind. In starch-based custards, the starch protects the eggs so the custard can boil without curdling (as for pastry cream). If I ever make this again (and I might because it tasted really good), I will definitely boil the custard. I'm giving this two forks because it could have been so good if the recipe writer had properly tested the recipe and changed just a few words. Instead of "...until mixture thickens to a custard-like consistency and coats the back of the spoon," it should have been "......until mixture comes to a boil."
ldesanto
Chicago, IL
4/17/2017
I followed the directions for this recipe, but doubled everything. While it turned out delicious, the custard didn't set and even started separating into a watery mess (just as one other reviewer said). I stirred and moved the custard to a colder fridge, and while it still didn't set, it didn't separate again. I made the recipe 2.5 days ahead, figuring there would be plenty of time for it to set. All of the other recipes I looked at involved cooking the custard, but this one didn't, which is why I chose it. Looking back, should I have cooked it in a water bath to make it set? I also didn't use ramekins and just poured the custard into one big glass dish (it was shallow though). I made this dish for Passover and it was a hit. Definitely one of the highlights of the meal. One thing I cannot figure out though- why on earth did we make our own coconut milk? I could have easily bought cans from the store for much less money, and I'm sure it would have turned out fine. This part seemed to be excessive (and I like complicated recipes!). I also only strained the mixture once (when making the milk) and didn't strain the custard before pouring it into the dish (we didn't have a sieve where I was cooking). Can the authors/editors add the canned equivalent amount and potentially delve into whether this should be cooked. I would make it again if these issues were addressed.
adarab
Bay Area, CA
4/11/2017
This recipe was a total failure for me. I followed the recipe exactly and the custard, although it came out thick after cooking it, totally collapsed into a a watery mess after refrigeration. I put it through the fine sieve after cooking it. I don't know if that did it or what, but I'm not going to try it again. And, it was impossible to find rhubarb, so I did strawberry/rasperries compote instead and ended up serving that over ice cream. I'm an experienced cook and have made other custards with no problem. I'm dumbfounded by the result.
Anonymous
Laguna Niguel, CA
4/2/2017
When you look at the rating of this recipe, you are discouraged by the fact that out of 4 "reviews" it is given NO stars! STOP "reviewing" recipes if you DONT EVEN MAKE IT!!!! BON APPETIT......GO BACK TO BEING A REAL SIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! STOP THE MADNESS!
camsalsberry
Hudson Ohio
3/11/2017
I have gluten free/dairy free loved ones. The challenge is dessert! This is a winner. I did the home made coconut milk using just the cheese cloth. Made 4 1/4 cups liquid and took less than 10 minutes to strain. All of the potato starch is needed. Not necessary to strain the custard. I've made some excellent GF/DF desserts and this one will be a spring time favorite.
Cdesind1
The Poconos
5/17/2015
I don't plan on making this as it looks far too much work, but from experience, sieving 4 1/2 cups water mixed with the coconut flakes to make coconut milk by hand (Never again, Ha!), you'd be left with almost 4 cups of your home-made coconut milk. A can contains about 2 cups of coconut milk, but you'd have to measure to be exact. (Not to mention that there are differently-sized cans available to buy.)
Silvamama
Sydney, AU
4/3/2015
How much coconut milk do you expect as the final result? For those of us who plan to use canned coconut milk?
caffreyc
Santa Rosa, CA
4/3/2015
I haven't tried this yet but 6 spoons of starch seems an awful lot when you consider the 7 egg yolks as well. The egg yolks on their own should produce a set custard quite adequately. Just a thought!
snmark
Australia
4/1/2015
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