Coconut Syrup Goodness

Ben loves a thing called 'Brinner.' For those of you who don't know what this is, it is breakfast for dinner. It's a term that we learned from the show Scrubs and it is truly a treat when he gets Brinner. Our favourite to put on almost any breakfast item is coconut syrup, but considering you can only get the really good stuff in Hawaii we decided to find a recipe to make it. Here is the recipe we use and it is delicious and easy and lasts for a long time.

Ingredients

1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups light corn syrup
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Directions

Whisk together the coconut milk and cornstarch in a saucepan until the cornstarch is dissolved. Pour in the corn syrup, sugar, and coconut; bring to a boil, stirring continually. As soon as the mixture comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat. Transfer to a blender and blend until the coconut flakes are smooth. Allow to cool before serving.

As a side note, we use 1 can of light coconut milk instead of the regular so that we at least think that it's healthier. Either way it's delicious.

Fresh Strawberry Icing

Fresh Strawberry Icing (the name for frosting in Canada)

½ cup soft butter
3 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/3 cup fresh strawberry puree, divided

Puree fresh strawberries to make about 1/3 cup. You can do this easily by cutting up the strawberries and mashing with a fork until liquid. Cream the butter with 2 cups of powdered sugar. Beat 3 tablespoons strawberry puree and the additional 1 cup of powdered sugar into the mixture. Gradually add 1-3 tablespoons (or more) of the strawberry puree into the icing until smooth and of desired spreading consistency; it’s not exact. You can add a few drops of red food coloring if you like a brighter pink.

"I first had fresh strawberry frosting on mini cupcakes at a stake Relief Society activity a few years ago. They were delicious! I decided to try making it using a classic butter icing recipe substituting strawberry puree in place of the milk called for in the recipe. It worked!! We have now served this for Rachel’s birthday a few times and for Laura and Ben’s Calgary reception." -Cathy Swendsen (Mom)

Grandma's Fluffy Frosting

Grandma’s Fluffy Frosting

2 egg whites 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
¾ cup brown sugar dash salt
1/3 cup lily golden corn syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons water

Separate eggs, carefully ensuring there is no yolk in the egg whites. Combine egg whites, sugar,syrup, water, cream of tartar and salt in the top of a double boiler. When the water starts to boil in the bottom of the double boiler, start beating with an electric mixer and continue until it holds its shape (approx. 7 minutes). Do not beat too long as it will begin to get too thick and difficult to spread on the cake. This is enough to frost a 9x13 cake. For a layer cake make 1 ½ times the recipe.

This is my Grandpa favourite frosting for chocolate cake. My Grandma, Elaine Low, got this from a Pillsbury cake mix box over 40 years ago. She said that it has never gone grainy.