The whole night I fretted about it.
Will it set?
That question ran through my brain like an endless loop that fitful sleep eluded me.
This morning, when the alarm blared I was dreading the outcome. I went through the usual motions of unmoulding - dipping it in hot water and loosening it with a knife. A quick shake of the mould did not seem to push it out but after a few more vigorous shakes, it fell out on the plate with a whoosh.
The whole cone still held even though the bottom of it had collapsed in a puddle of coconut milk. What fascinated me was how wobbly the tip was shaking from left to right just like a happy dog's tail. I guess the gelatine powder gave it that jello-like softness. A few snaps later (where I felt I was whitewashed), it was time to taste it with the gula melaka syrup.
It was seriously good stuff that I polished off the two cones in one go - a sinfully sweet brekkie. As I'm writing this blog post, I'm enjoying leftovers I had set in a tupperware. I reckon my slight failure was not leaving it overnight to set since the leftover souffle is of the right consistency - wobbly and marshmallow fluffy with a slight resistance from the gelatine powder.
This recipe is always a big favourite of mine as I learnt it from my dear friend, Nigel Skelchy, one half of the dynamic cake duo of Just Heavenly (incidentally they're celebrating their 10 year anniversary). Easy to whip up, it never fails to dazzle people in dinner parties that a friend always asks for this to be made. Hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.
Incidentally, I'm also including a fun tip for the day. As we discovered, don't use your Royal Selangor Nick Munro pewter moulds as ear muffs. They won't boost your fashion acumen nor connect you to aliens from outer space like Mork and Orson. Just remember to see what the other bloggers are doing over at Royal Selangor Jelly's webpage and remember to give suggestions to win the Olympus VG 110 camera. Email to booliciouskl@gmail.com or leave a blog comment. More pictures are in the Flickr set.
Coconut Souffle (For 2 moulds and a little extra)
2 1/2 teaspoons gelatine powder
60ml water
225ml coconut milk (I used Kara UHT)
generous pinch salt
250ml whipping cream
3 egg whites
25g caster sugar
pinch of cream of tartar
gula melaka syrup
200g gula melaka, chopped
2 pandan leaves, torn
9cm fresh ginger, cut into slices
1 tablespoon sugar
170ml water
To prepare the souffle: Soak gelatine powder in warm water in a heavy based pot for 10 minutes. Warm over medium heat and dissolve fully. Be careful not to oil. Remove from heat. Add coconut milk; whisk to dissolve fully. In another bowl, whisk cream until it reaches soft peaks. In another clean bowl, whisk egg whites with sugar and cream of tartar till it reaches stiff peaks. Gently fold the coconut milk into the whisked cream. Lastly fold the meringue into the coconut cream mixture; incorporating until all the large lumps of meringue have been broken up. Pour into the moulds. Refrigerate for 4 hours or preferably overnight.
To prepare syrup: Place all ingredients in a pot. Melt over medium heat. Remove from the heat. Cool.
To assemble: Loosen the sides of the mould with a knife. Dip moulds into hot water. Tilt on the plate. Drizzle with gula melaka syrup or served on the side.