Victorian-inspired recipe: Coconut Rose-water Bread Pudding, version 1.

I dug out my flavorings the other day and decided to try interpreting the Coconut Pound Cake recipe from Godey's Lady's Book as a bread pudding. Here's the recipe:

Coconut Rose-water Bread Pudding

8 slices stale sandwich bread (I used potato bread)
2 eggs
1 cup coconut milk, plus extra
1 cup 2 % milk
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus extra
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon rose water

Butter an 8-inch square baking dish and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 4 slices of bread and fit them into the bottom of the dish (I didn't trim the crusts but the bread would have fit better if I had). Cover with coconut and sprinkle with a light dusting of sugar. Repeat with another layer of buttered bread, coconut and sugar. Beat the eggs in a bowl, then add the coconut milk, dairy milk, rose water and any remaining sugar. Beat well to mix, then pour over the bread, making sure to soak it well. Add a bit more coconut milk to the bread in the dish as needed, to soak every little corner. Let sit for 10 minutes or so to soak up the custard, then bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until custard is set and coconut on top is browned. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Well, I discovered that coconut milk isn't very flavorful, and while the pudding smelled great as it baked, it had very mild flavor. I cut the coconut milk with dairy milk because I didn't want it to be overwhelming in its coconut flavor, but I think that was a mistake. Next time I make this, I will try to use all coconut milk, and even add some extra coconut flavoring if I can get it, or some vanilla, and a little more rose water. Or maybe fresh lemon zest. But this has potential!

Review of Buccaneer blend loose tea from SerendipiTea.

I recently received a sample of this tea blend and have really been enjoying it. The Buccaneer blend contains Fair Trade certified organic black tea, chocolate, coconut, vanilla and rooibos. The first aroma that I noticed upon opening the foil pouch was the toasted coconut, with a little hint of vanilla and chocolate and the kind of citrusy fragrance of rooibos. When brewed and served hot, the flavor of the tea blend changes slightly; I thought it tasted mostly of toasted coconut and rooibos, and couldn’t really taste the chocolate and vanilla. On a second and third brewing, the chocolate and coconut are very much in the aroma, but the vanilla is still hiding behind them, I suspect. The black tea flavor wasn’t there at all for me, and I had to look at the tea leaves themselves to make sure they were there. Sort of disappointing for me, as I expected the black tea to make the blend taste more substantial. On a second and third brewing, I detected the black tea as a faint presence behind all the other stronger flavors, but not as a distinct flavor in itself. I tend to want my tea – even flavored tea – to taste at least a little bit like “tea”, but I may be alone in my preference. All in all, still a tasty blend, which can withstand 2 infusions per serving. I’m not sure this blend is one of those that tastes equally good as a hot beverage and a cold one; I drank some both freshly brewed and after it had cooled, and I prefer this blend hot, definitely. The chocolate flavor really needs the heat in order to have a presence, I think. But as a hot drink, with a flavor of the tropics, the Buccaneer blend is a good one.

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