Quindim de coco (coconut quindim) is a dessert originary from Brazil. It was first created in the 16th Century, by slaves in the northeast of Brazil with the abundant coconut, the raw sugar from the local sugar cane plantations and egg yolks, a heritage from the Portuguese traditional monestery desserts. “Quindim” is also a word which comes from the Bantu language, an idiom of some sub Saharan countries. Its lovely meaning is “the manner or gesture of a girl”. I love the combination of egg and coconut which seem to blend perfectly when cooked in the bain-marie. My grandmother used to sell them, in her patisserie, on Sundays. They used to be placed on shiny rectangular metal trays by the dozen. Sometimes they even had a maraschino cherry on top and rested on paper dollies that used to soak up the moistness. These were a Sunday treat, somewhat the perfect gastronomic marriage between an European catholic country and the exocitism of a far tropical land. As this dessert is extremely sweet I tend to give it a bit of a bitter contrast by introducing a spoonful of vintage orange marmalade. Enjoy.
Ingredients
4 egg yolks
200gr of dissecated coconut
170gr of sugar
1 tbsp of corn flour
1 tsp of vanilla essence
100 gr of orange marmalade
Sunflower oil and sugar for coating
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven at 190 ºC. Prepare a bain-marie. Fill a tray in half with hot water and place in the oven.
In a bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar till it resembles a fluffy and light paste. Add in the coconut, the corflour and the vanilla essence. Beat well and set aside.
Meanwhile, brush 6 ramekins with sunflower oil and sugar. Place a teaspoon of orange marmalade in the bottom of each ramekin. Fill each one with the egg mixture and place in the tray. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, till their top is golden. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before turn them upside down into individual plates.
West Coast Cooking 