Dairy-free and gluten-free coconut pudding parfait with mango-pineapple jam and oat crumble

The Story

The origin story for my dairy-free and gluten-free coconut pudding parfait with mango-pineapple jam and oat crumble (ooof that’s a mouthful) starts in the same way as my apple crumble recipe. Similarly to my father, I found out this year that my sister has never been a huge fan of the gluten-free, dairy-free apple crumble I would make for her every Christmas. And just like with my dad, it equally broke my heart, but in this case even more. Because apple crumble is a relatively easy dessert to adapt for people with a gluten and/or dairy intolerance. I’d make a little bit of extra filling from the Claire Saffitz recipe for the Best Apple Pie from Bon Appetit and top it with an oat crumble using coconut oil as a binder.

When I sat down to do my holiday meal planning this year, knowing I’d have to come up with a new gluten-free and dairy-free desert for my sister, I was sincerely overwhelmed. I scoured the internet for inspiration, but all the recipes I found relied upon vegan butter, which no offense, I haven’t found one that doesn’t taste rancid. Thinking and thinking it over again, I finally got some inspiration.

It’s no surprise that everyone in my family loves coconut and tropical fruits like mango and pineapple. My coconut cream pie is a hit every year and my mango-pineapple ripple cheesecake was to die for. However, neither one is dairy or gluten-free. But I knew my sister always looked with envy as we ate them, wishing she could have a piece. So I thought, why not put together something for her that doesn’t feel like a throw-away building on the flavors of coconut, mango, and pineapple.

Since coconut milk is naturally dairy-free that issue wasn’t a problem, all marmalades/coulis don’t have any dairy or gluten in them, and I already had that oat crumble topping from the apple crumble I would make her every year. And voila! My coconut pudding with mango and pineapple jam and oat crumble was born!

I recommend making all of the separate elements the day before to allow everything to properly chill and come together.

Difficulty: 3.5 on a scale of 1-5

Active time to prepare: 90 minutes

Total time to prepare: 7.5 hours - 8 hours including chilling, resting, baking, and cooling

Serves: 8-10

The Recipe

For the dairy-free coconut pudding:

1. In a medium, thick bottom pot, add the coconut milk, the coconut cream, the almond milk, and the salt. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat.

2. In a heat-safe bowl, add the sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.

3. Once the liquids have come to a bare simmer, slowly pour in a third of the mixture into the sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks. Thoroughly whisk to combine. Add all of it back to the warm milk and whisk.

4. Set up another bowl with a sieve placed on top for when the pudding is done. Put the pot back onto the stove over medium heat.

5. Whisking constantly, cook the mixture until the mixture starts to thicken and big bubbles start to form (around 5 - 7 minutes).

   *NOTE: Make sure that while you’re cooking and whisking constantly, you get into the corners of the pan and scrape the mixture off the sides. Otherwise, the mixture sitting there on the hot surface will coagulate and make your pudding lumpy.

6. Lower the heat and cook for another 2 minutes.

7. Using a rubber spatula, pour the pudding through the sieve set over the bowl. You can use the same rubber spatula or a ladle to help you move the pudding through the sieve.

8. Make sure to scrape the underside of the sieve clean and add it to the rest of the pudding in the bowl.

9. Give the pudding one last whisk. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding.

10. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Mango-pineapple jam:

1. Add all of the ingredients in a medium pot. Mix thoroughly with a rubber spatula to combine.

2. Set over medium-low heat and cook until the mixture reduces and thickens (12 - 17 minutes).

3. Make sure there are no big pieces of fruit that haven’t broken down.

   *NOTE: If some of the fruit is still hanging on, but is soft and cooked, use a tool like a potato masher to break down any bigger pieces.

4. Remove from the pan and store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Apple crumble topping:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° C/175° F, and place a rack in the middle of the oven.

2. Add all of the ingredients minus the water to a food processor.

3. Pulse until the mixture starts to clump together.

4. If it seems dry, add a spoonful of water at a time.

5. On a baking sheet topped with parchment paper, place hazelnut-size globs of the crumble mixture.

   *NOTE: The pieces can be slightly touching each other, but you don’t want them to be too piled up.

6. Bake for 20 - 35 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown.

7. Set aside to cool.

Assembly:

1. Thoroughly whisk the pudding. Take a spoonful of pudding and carefully put it in the bottom of each glass/bowl. Try the best you can to smooth out the layer and not get too much all over the sides of the glass.

2. Follow up with two spoonfuls of mango-pineapple jam.

3. Place a small handful of the crumble mixture, enough to cover all of the jam.

4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 until you reach the top of the glass. If you can, finish with a crumble layer.

5. You can optionally top it with some dairy-free whipped cream.

DO AHEAD: You can make the pudding up to 5 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator with a piece of plastic wrap directly touching the surface.

You can make the mango-pineapple jam up to 7 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

You can make the crumble topping up to 3 days in advance, stored in an air-tight container stored at room temperature.

The Ingredients

For the dairy-free coconut pudding:

3/4 cup/200 g coconut milk

3/4 cup/200 g coconut cream

1/4 cup/60 g almond milk

1/4 tsp/1 g sea salt

1/4 cup/50 g granulated white sugar

2 Tbsp./14 g cornstarch

2 large egg yolks, room temperature

1 tsp./6 g coconut extract

For the mango-pineapple jam:

1 cup/130 g mango cut into cubes

1 cup/130 g pineapple cut into cubes

1/2 cup/100 g granulated white sugar

Zest and juice from one lime

1 tsp./3 g cinnamon

For the gluten-free crumble:

1/2 cup/45 g rolled oats

1/4 cup/24 g almond flour

1/2 cup/45 g shredded unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup/34 g roasted hazelnuts

1/3 cup/67 g dark brown sugar

1 Tbsp./9 g cinnamon

1/4 cup./56 g melted coconut oil, slightly cooled

Water as needed

Assembly:

Tall glasses/narrow bowls to assemble the parfait