Coconut and Pineapple Sundaes

Why is it that when people think of coconut and pineapple, they'll think of tropical island? I guess because coconut trees grow along the beach on tropical islands, and the closest tropical island to mainland US is Hawaii where there's a lot of pineapple grown so people put that two together constantly.  Personally, when I am looking for tropical flavor I will look in rambutan, guava, star fruit, and papaya among many others.  But sadly, finding those fruits in the US are hard and when they're available the prices are exorbitant.  So, I make do with coconut and pineapple to chase away my tropical blues.

The idea of making this sundaes came from two sources, one was my ice cream making book and the second one was from Sunset magazine.  I modified some ingredients and a refreshing concoction was made.  The coconut ice here is lighter than coconut ice cream since there's no custard base to make.  By sauteing pineapples in butter, I was able to bring out the sweet, mellow taste of them; they're then doused with a bit of rum to heighten the flavor.  In the end I included toasted shredded coconuts and lime zest to make this duo come together.

Coconut Ice

Serves 4 to 6



2/3 cup water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1-14 oz. can coconut milk

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups fresh pineapple chunks

1/4 cup rum

Zest of 1 lime

Toasted shredded coconut



Put the water in a medium saucepan.  Add sugar and coconut milk and bring to boil, stirring constantly.  Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then chill well.

If using ice cream maker, churn the mixture until firm enough to scoop.

Melt butter in a medium frying pan over high heat.  Add pineapple chunks and cook until caramelized slightly, about 5 minutes.  Add rum and cook until it resembles a syrup.

To serve:  scoop coconut ice into dishes, spoon warm pineapple chunks on top and decorate with lime zest and toasted shredded coconut.