Little Ivy Cakes

ALOHA, HAUPIA!
You make me love you long time

So, Haupia is A delightfully refreshing Hawaiian coconut treat.
Thaaaaat...if you couldn't tell, I looooove. I may have had it as a kid, while living on the big island of Hawaii or when on Maui but, the first time I remember eating it was the day after my wedding day. My Seanie and I..in love...went to dinner at Mama's Fish House while on our honeymoon. AND, I have GOT to tell YOU! It was the best meal I have ever had! Aside from one at Mattie's Taven in Los Olivos, CA. But anyway, our really good friends who actually set me and my lovely hubby up, Tony and Heather, treated us to this dinner and it was an amazing moment for sure. IF you are ever on Maui, You must eat at Mama's Fish House or even stay at the Inn there. It's totally worth it!
Oohhhh*sigh* sweet memories. :)

So, traditionally served in little bite-size cubes after a Luau or big dinner feast.
You can read a little bit about it HERE on Wikipedia.
But, really, I could eat haupia all day and any time of day. That's how good is is.
I mean, it's so good that people who DON'T even LIIIIIKE coconut, eat it all up like it was going out of style.
No, um... it's so good that my whole batch was eaten up so fast that I couldn't get a picture of the finished product fast enough.
Actually, it's so good that, honestly, I was really only worried about eating it, not taking any finished-product blog pictures.

I need to make it again though. Everyone really liked how I made it but, I want to try making it again with homemade coconut milk and not coconut milk from the can. I think it will make a world of difference.

You can do a ton of stuff with haupia and you can make it as simple or as complex and gourmet as you like, either way... it's going to be good.

Coconut Milk-from scratch:

8 oz pckg unsweetened dried coconut
1 cup boiling water

-Blend coconut and water
-Let mixture cool
-Place a sieve with cheese cloth over a large bowl
-Squeeze the mixture once poured n the cloth to extract as much liquid as possible
-Use right away or store for a couple days.

Coconut Milk from Scratch Scratch:

1 matured coconut with only hard brown shell exposed
1/4 to 1/2 cup hot water
sieve and cheese cloth

-Drain the coco water from the coconut by piercing the "eyes" with a clean nail and hammer
-Put coconut with shell in oven and bake for 30 minutes at 325 F.
-After cooled, crack the shell open and get all the meat out.
-Peel the inner brown layer, and chop coconut into small pieces.
-Place coco meat in blender or food processor and add hot water, enough to cover the meat. Puree
-Place the mesh sieve with cheese cloth over a large bowl
-Pour the puree through the sieve, squeezing to extract the juice from the meat
-Discard meat or use for something else.
P.S. You should use the fresh milk right away but, if you need to, store it in fridge for 1-2 days covered tightly.

HAUPIA Crust  RECIPE *optional

*Usually haupia is just by itself but I found this recipe that made a bottom crust and it was really good)
1/2 cup butter, room temp
3 Tbs sugar
1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup chopped pecans or Macadamia nuts(they sell honey roasted that are A-Mazing!)
Zest of 1 lime (If you want...it's what I did)
-Preheat oven to 350 F.
-Whip all ingredients together
-Line your haupia pan with parchment paper and little parchment tabs to help pull out your completed, chilled desert later.

-Spread the crust dough smooth and flat in the bottom of your haupia pan ( I an used 8x8 square cake pan)
-Bake for 15 to 10 minutes at 350 F.

 HAUPIA
4 cups coconut milk
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla or vanilla bean(optional)

-In a medium saucepan, combine coco milk, and whisk until smooth and turn on medium heat
-In a medium mixing bowl, whisk sugar and cornstarch
-Slowly whisk in sugar mix, occasionally whisking.
-Turn to medium low heat and cook until you have a thick, shiny consistency.
- Taste to make sure your mix is not grainy. If it is than cook for longer until the coco fat is melted and smooth.
-Pour into a square pan depending on how thick you want your haupia squares. And if doing the crust thing, make sure your crust is cooled.
-Sooth out and place a parchment sheet over top-make sure there are no wrinkles.
-Seal with plastic wrap.
-Chill for 5 hours or overnight.
-Invert onto baking sheet, and then invert again onto another baking sheet so you have a clock of haupia with crust on bottom.
-With a large, thick knike, slice even haupia squares and transfer to a serving plate.
-You can serve with...
whipped cream
chocolate whipped cream
drizzled plain coconut milk
drizzled coconut rum
or sprinkled toasted coconut
But, really, by itself, it's just fine. :)
THE END!