No-Bake Lime Coconut Custards
The picture doesn’t really do it justice
Active Time: 1 Hour 55 minutes
Ingredient Availability: 5/5
Difficulty: 1/5
I don’t typically like coconut. It’s not that I hate it or find it intolerable, it’s just that I will usually decline something if it has coconut in it. I think it’s more about the texture than the flavor, as most things that I have had with coconut are with shredded coconut, which has a very unique flavor. I decided to give this recipe a try because it includes lime, which I tend to really enjoy in a dessert. Plus, this recipe is from What’s For Dessert, which has yet to disappoint.
Key Ingredients & Omissions:
This is just about the perfect amount of limes
I used all the ingredients that this recipe calls for. As far as key ingredients go, I guess I would just say to make sure that your coconut milk is full fat. This is a dessert, after all. Don’t worry about the extra calories and enjoy the once in a while treat.
Tools:
Immersion Blender or regular blender
Serving Coupes/glasses
Hand Mixer
Cooking Review:
Prep: 16 minutes
To prep to make the custard, I zested 1 lime and juiced 5 to get a half cup of juice. I recommend getting 6 limes total, just in case.
Making Custard: 57 minutes
I combined the coconut milk, heavy cream, agave syrup, and a little salt in a pot and brought it to a boil. Once at a boil, I reduced the temperature to a simmer. Then, I let it simmer, whisking occasionally, until it had reduced to about 3 cups. I poured the custard into a measuring cup to see how close I was twice before finally reaching 3 cups after about 40 minutes of simmering. This took about twice as long as what the recipe says.
Finishing Custard: 8 minutes
I removed the custard from the heat and added the lime juice and zest. I blended everything together with my immersion blender until smooth and distributed the custard amongst 8 small serving glasses. I transferred them to the refrigerator (covered) to chill. They chilled for a total of about 7 hours.
Making Crumble: 16 minutes
To make the crumble, I broke up some graham crackers in a small bowl and crushed them more with the bottom of a glass. The shredded coconut was added and tossed with a little salt, the coconut oil and agave syrup with a fork before finishing the mixing with my fingers. Finally, I put the crumble in the refrigerator to set up.
Whipping Cream and assembly: 15 minutes
It took me about 7 minutes to whip the heavy cream to soft peaks and 8 minutes to top all of the custards with the crumble and whipped cream.
Analysis:
This custard is incredibly smooth. It probably should be expected, as it was blended right before being chilled, but it is still impressive. The lime flavor is great and is well balanced by the the unsweetened whipped cream, which makes the overall sweetness level perfect. The crumble topping is also nice, and is where most of the coconut flavor comes from. It adds a nice textural contrast and some warmth from the graham crackers. I didn’t really mind the coconut shred here, probably because there weren't that many in the sea of everything else. As far as how this tastes, I have no complaints. I will say that I don’t really like that it took twice as long as the recipe says to reduce the custard, but the time is well worth it. I’m giving this recipe a 9/10 and if you like lime or coconut, you should make it.
