My Questions are Always About Dessert
March 16, 2016 5:21 PM Subscribe
What ice cream would you pair with this cake?
I am making this Speckled Malted Coconut Cake for Easter. Some family members like ice cream with their cake and I don't want us at the mercy of the chocolate chip mint in the back of Mom's freezer.
I generally use Jeni's Splendid recipes for ice cream, so the base has cream cheese & no eggs. I'm pretty comfortable riffing on that base recipe with whatever to create my own flavors tho.
So, how about it? What kind of ice cream goes with malted coconut?
I am making this Speckled Malted Coconut Cake for Easter. Some family members like ice cream with their cake and I don't want us at the mercy of the chocolate chip mint in the back of Mom's freezer.
I generally use Jeni's Splendid recipes for ice cream, so the base has cream cheese & no eggs. I'm pretty comfortable riffing on that base recipe with whatever to create my own flavors tho.
So, how about it? What kind of ice cream goes with malted coconut?
Something fresh, acidic, maybe citrusy. Guava. Passionfruit. Pineapple. Lemon. Lime.
posted by xyzzy at 5:26 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by xyzzy at 5:26 PM on March 16, 2016
Ginger or green tea ice cream?
posted by smorgasbord at 5:36 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by smorgasbord at 5:36 PM on March 16, 2016
Best answer: Ooh! I make a lot of ice cream. This is my jam.
Something fruity is a natural choice (mango, passionfruit, lime, and pineapple, mentioned above, all go GREAT with coconut), but the question mark here is the malted flavor. Is it subtle, or stronger? If the malt flavor comes through noticeably in the cake, those fruits wouldn't be my go-to. Strawberry would work really well, though.
Non-fruit options, if you're looking to pair with the coconut as well as the malt: a nice vanilla bean could do the trick (there's a reason it's a classic!). Hazelnut or nutella ice cream would also be good.
posted by duffell at 5:37 PM on March 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Something fruity is a natural choice (mango, passionfruit, lime, and pineapple, mentioned above, all go GREAT with coconut), but the question mark here is the malted flavor. Is it subtle, or stronger? If the malt flavor comes through noticeably in the cake, those fruits wouldn't be my go-to. Strawberry would work really well, though.
Non-fruit options, if you're looking to pair with the coconut as well as the malt: a nice vanilla bean could do the trick (there's a reason it's a classic!). Hazelnut or nutella ice cream would also be good.
posted by duffell at 5:37 PM on March 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Ooo, what about Jeni's Bangkok Peanut Ice Cream? It has coconut in it, which'll pick up the flavor in the cake, but the flavor's mostly just nice and peanut-y and spicy.
posted by damayanti at 5:52 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by damayanti at 5:52 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Are you kidding me? Raspberry sorbet! It's fabulous melted or not, and the colour is gorgeous!
posted by Dragonness at 6:27 PM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Dragonness at 6:27 PM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I feel like malted coconut could easily get lost under something strong like citrus or berry. I'd lean more to subtle: green tea, salted caramel, lemongrass, maybe toasted marshmallow. Or very milky milk chocolate (or hot chocolate).
posted by Lyn Never at 6:54 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 6:54 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm voting for salted caramel too!
posted by stripesandplaid at 7:06 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by stripesandplaid at 7:06 PM on March 16, 2016
I'd go for a bourbon or rum vanilla.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:18 AM on March 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:18 AM on March 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I agree the malt is the wild card. If it were just coconut then obviously tropical fruit would be the answer. But malt... malt's different. I would say you want something in the nut family. Hazelnut or nutella. Or a good vanilla. Or white chocolate if you can find a recipe that is not overwhelmingly sweet.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:25 AM on March 17, 2016
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:25 AM on March 17, 2016
Ooh, yeah, white chocolate could be really good here. You might try a white chocolate ice cream with just a bit of crushed cacao nibs sprinkled on the top (to add a contrast to all the warm mild sweetness of the white chocolate/malt/coconut). The nibs can get bitter, so a little would go a long way.
posted by duffell at 8:49 AM on March 17, 2016
posted by duffell at 8:49 AM on March 17, 2016
My God... that cake is so pretty.
I say mango, unless everybody's right about the malt flavor being strong, in which case I agree with Ruthless Bunny: alcohol. Ooh, I know, make elephant ice cream! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarula
posted by Don Pepino at 10:12 AM on March 17, 2016
I say mango, unless everybody's right about the malt flavor being strong, in which case I agree with Ruthless Bunny: alcohol. Ooh, I know, make elephant ice cream! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarula
posted by Don Pepino at 10:12 AM on March 17, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks, all - this was very helpful. I've not made this cake before, so I'm not sure how strong the malt flavor will be, but these answers led me to the idea of using Jeni's Banana Ice Cream with Caramelized White Chocolate Freckles (here's a site that has the recipe posted).
posted by hilaryjade at 8:22 AM on March 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by hilaryjade at 8:22 AM on March 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
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