Coconut Surprise

World Coconut Day

This special day may be in your calendar for a very different reason - Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there - but the 2^nd of September is actually a truly delicious day worth celebrating one of nature's most popular flavours - coconut!

World Coconut Day celebrates the delicious fruit and a spectacular pastry chef on The Islands of Tahiti has the perfect recipe to help you do just that.

Luc Vidal from Le Corail restaurant at InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa has created the Coconut Surprise recipe using Tahitian coconuts… as soon as you taste it you'll be dreaming of those sandy white beaches and ultimate luxury that The Islands of Tahiti offer.

Coconut Surprise

Bounty inspired coconut surprise, milk and white chocolate shell, coconut heart and lemongrass cream.

Chocolate Shell:

Ingredients
8g melted white chocolate
8g melted milk chocolate

Instructions
Inflate a small balloon and cover most of the balloon in melted white chocolate holding the knotted end. Leave suspended for 10 minutes then repeat with the melted milk chocolate. Once the chocolate has cooled, carefully pierce the balloon with a knife as the knotted end and remove the balloon. Gently scrape the shell with a fork to give the coconut shell effect. Leave until ready to fill.

Shortbread Crumble:

Ingredients
2 egg yolks
60g of sugar
60g of softened butter

1g of salt
100g of floor

Instructions
Whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until the mixture lightens in colour. Stir through the softened butter and the rest of the ingredients until combined before cooking at 160°.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden in colour.

Bounty:

Ingredients
50ml coconut milk
20g sugar
35g grated coconut
65mL cream
70g white chocolate
10g grated coconut
2.5g edible gelatine

Instructions
Heat the coconut milk with the sugar and 25g grated coconut for 1 hour. In the meantime, break the white chocolate into small pieces and heat the cream until it begins to simmer, pour the cream over the chocolate to create a French Grenache and then stir in the edible gelatine. Blend both mixtures and add the rest of the grated coconut.

Lemongrass Cream:

Ingredients
20ml milk 5g sugar
2g egg yolk
5g egg
2g flour
0.5g edible gelatine
½ stick of lemongrass
12ml whipped cream

Instructions
Bring the milk to the boil with half a stick on lemongrass to infuse for six minutes. Pour the milk over the egg yolks, egg, sugar and flour and bring to the boil for three minutes, add the gelatine and cool while adding the whipped cream.

Coconut Ice Cream:

Ingredients
8g coconut paste
2g of sugar
0.5g fragmented glucose
6g milk
0.3g inverted sugar
0.12g stabliser

Instructions
Make the syrup by heating the milk, sugar, fragmented glucose, inverted sugar and stabiliser. Add the coconut paste when the sugar syrup is ready. Blend the mix with an ice cream machine.

Method: Sprinkle the Shortbread Crumble onto the plate.
Carefully fill the Chocolate Shell with the Bounty, Lemongrass Cream and Coconut Ice Cream.
Carefully place the Chocolate Shell onto the Shortbread Crumble and serve with a small pouring jug of coconut milk to help soften the shell if desired.

Image: Luc Vidal