The Tropical Treat

Archives for March 2020

Mango, kiwi and passion fruit salad

By

Get some tropical vibes and Vitamin C with this simple fruit salad – mango, kiwi and banana in a light passion fruit syrup. It’s bright, delicious and full of natural goodness. I think we all could do with something super easy to make but is really good for us right now.

To be honest you can use any fruits you have at hand (now we are quarantining make the most of what you have tinned, frozen or fresh) and if you can’t get your hands on passion fruit, substitute with orange juice or clementines instead. 

With the Coronavirus looming I have definitely felt the need to step up and make sure I’m eating healthy, delicious and most importantly immune-boosting food. 

I made this fruit salad the first time to serve with a coconut tart I made a few weeks back but realised it’s pretty versatile. So put it on top of your porridge, eat it with some coconut granola and yogurt or just have it on it’s own…

Mango, kiwi and passion fruit salad

A simple tropical fruit salad – mango, kiwi, banana with a light passion fruit syrup. It’s bright, delicious and full of natural goodness. Get your vitamins in! This tropical fruit salad is lovely on its own, with some yogurt and granola or this toasted coconut custard tart.

  • 3 Passion fruit, halved and seeds scooped out 
  • 1-2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 200g mango, cubed
  • 4 ripe kiwis, peeled and quartered lengthways
  • 2 small bananas, cut into 1/4 inch slices

  1. First make the syrup, scoop the seeds out of the passion fruit and press the pulp into a small fine sieve over a small saucepan extracting the juice*.

  2. Over a medium heat, add the sugar to the juice stirring slowly until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and add the lemon juice and leave aside to cool.

  3. In a medium bowl, put the pieces of mango, kiwi and banana together. Pour over the syrup and toss ensuring all the fruit is coated in the passion fruit syrup.

  4. This is best eaten straight away but will keep for a day refrigerated. Enjoy!

*Keep one passion fruit aside and stir with the syrup if you like the seeds.

This recipe is slightly adapted from this delicious one over at Food and Wine.

Toasted coconut custard tart

By

A toasted coconut custard tart – sweet, creamy custard topped with shredded rich caramelised coconut. Serve with a tropical fruit salad and some vanilla ice cream for the most satisfying tropical pud!

I found this recipe for a coconut tart a while ago and really wanted to try it. The tart comes from a restaurant called Maya’s on the Caribbean island of St Bart’s. It’s really good and really does just taste like a giant coconut macaroon. I tweaked the original recipe a little by adding double cream and coconut milk to make it richer.

It’s super tropical and especially with that lovely bright fruit salad ( I’ll put the recipe for that up next time). Make sure to serve it with a nice helping of vanilla ice cream too…

Toasted coconut custard tart

A toasted coconut custard tart – sweet, creamy custard topped with shredded rich caramelised coconut. Serve with a tropical fruit salad and some vanilla ice cream for the most satisfying tropical pud!

For the pastry

  • 240g plain flour, sifted
  • 1tsp salt
  • 170g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes 
  • 60ml ice cold water

For the filling

  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 25g plain flour
  • 1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways and seeds scraped out 
  • 150ml double cream
  • 150ml coconut milk
  • 170g  finely shredded fresh coconut 
  • 225g light brown sugar
  • Kiwi, banana and passion fruit salad, to serve
  • Vanilla ice cream, to serve

  1. First make the pastry, sift flour and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and rub together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs (alternatively put in a food processor). Mix together with ice cold water until the mixture comes together in a ball (add more water if it is a little dry).

  2. Pat down to make a rounded disc shape. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and put in the fridge for one hour to chill. 

  3. For the filling, whisk the eggs in a small pan with the flour and vanilla until smooth. Add double cream. Over a medium heat, slowly add in the coconut milk whisking constantly until creamy and thick.

  4. Spoon the custard into a bowl and cover with clingfilm ensuring it touches the surface of the custard and leave aside to cool.

  5. Bring the dough out and roll on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a 1 pound coin. 

  6. Put the pastry over your tart tin (23cm tart tin with a loose base) and gently push down making sure to get the pastry into the corners of the tin. Cut any excess pastry off the top of the tart tin with a sharp knife. 

  7. Preheat the oven to 180C / gas mark 4 /350F. Using a fork prick the base of the pastry. Line with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice. Blind bake for 20 minutes, remove the beans and paper and then put in for 15 minutes longer or until the pastry is golden brown. Set aside to cool completely.

  8. Spoon the custard into the pastry case and smooth over into an even layer.

  9. In a large pan over a high heat, toss the shredded coconut with sugar, constantly stirring until the coconut is translucent. Spread the coconut over the custard evenly and put in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

  10. Once slightly cooled gently push out of the tart tin, slice and serve with a warm fruit salad and vanilla ice cream.