Vanshika Bhatia, chef and co-owner of Petite Pie shop, combines two Christmas classics to come up with this dessert with a twist — a coconut & marshmallow fluff pie.
Think Christmas and pies immediately come to mind — be they sweet or savoury. And, of course, winter is incomplete until you’ve sat around a bonfire and had toasted marshmallows and hot chocolate. Now how about combining the two? Chef Vanshika Bhatia, co-owner and chef of Petite Pie Shop in Gurgaon, has done just that by making a coconut pie with a marshmallow topping.
Having studied at Le Cordon Bleu in London, Vanshika loves Christmas in that city and enjoys toasting marshmallows herself. That is how she thought of putting them on a pie. She has worked with some of the best restaurants in the world — Noma in Copenhagen, Gaggan in Bangkok, and Junoon in Dubai.
Now she runs a French-style bistro and café called Petite Pie Shop — which is all about sweet and savoury pies. It’s one of a kind in the city. This recipe may look a bit complicated but it’s worth the effort.
Coconut & marshmallow fluff pie
This recipe has two elements — the coconut flan and the marshmallow — that need to be put together in a tart shell.
Coconut flan
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 45 gms cream cheese
- 45 gms coconut milk
- 70 gms evaporated milk
- 80 gms condensed milk
- 2 tsp coconut milk powder
- 20 gms sugar for the caramel
Method
- In a blender add all the ingredients except the sugar. Do not over blend, just enough to mix all ingredients properly.
- In a pan add the sugar in an even layer and switch on the heat. Let the sugar melt and become a golden caramel. No water needed for this, it’s called a dry caramel.
- Pour the hot caramel on a cake tin and let it set.
- Place the cake tin in a tray with some depth and pour water in the tray.
- Pour the flan batter on top of the set caramel.
- Bake it at 140-150 degrees C in the tray of water for 45 minutes. The tray of water is important so the flan does not get direct heat and cooks to a smooth consistency.
- Let the flan cool completely before demoulding.
- To demould, run a knife around the edges and flip on to a plate.
Coconut marshmallow
Ingredients
- 5 gms gelatine
- 36 ml water
- 60 gms sugar
- 2 tsp coconut milk powder
- 1 tsp chopped coconut
- 42 gms glucose syrup
Method
- Make sugar syrup by heating sugar in a flat pan till it reaches 117 degrees C. The temperature is important.
- Then quickly add all the ingredients except the gelatine in a stand mixer and start mixing.
- Add the gelatine while the ingredients are being mixed and stop when the mixture is fluffy.
- Put in a piping bag instantly and pipe.
Assembly
- In a baked tart shell demould the flan, caramel side up.
- Pipe the coconut marshmallow on top.
- With a blow torch caramelise the marshmallow.
- Garnish with some golden sugar balls and grated coconut.
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