Coconut Pudding

Pinterest, foodgawker.com, and the general bloggersphere are blowing up with red, white, and blue ideas for 4th of July parties. I think it is fun to make a dish that goes along with a theme but some of these ideas are WAY to labor intensive for my taste.

I will not be making a cake with dyed layers to make each slice look like an American Flag. 

I won't be dying bread crumbs blue and red to make fancy colored stars on a dip. 

I won't be arranging strawberries and blueberries on a cheese cake to look like the flag.

For those of you who love that kind of stuff: go for it, more power to ya!  I'm just not that person.

What I am willing to do is make a coconut pudding and sprinkle blueberries and strawberries (in no particular pattern) on top.  It is a delicious, cool, and refreshing snack or end to a 4th of July cook-off.  This pudding isn't too thick, so it would be great spooned over angel food cake.  The coconut flavor comes through really well so it would also be delicious stirred into a tropical fruit salad and sprinkled with toasted coconut.

This is my kind of red,white, and blue dessert.

Coconut Pudding

1(13.5 or 14 oz.) can coconut milk 

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

In a small heavy bottomed sauce pan whisk together milk, sugar, and cornstarch.  Turn heat to medium high and whisk constantly til thickened, about 5 minutes.  It will not look as thick as traditional instant pudding, it will be similar in consistancy to yogurt and will thicken more a little more when cooled.  Stir in the extracts, cool to room temp and refrigerate.

Top with strawberries and blueberries or whatever floats your boat: toasted pecans and coconut, granola, mandarin oranges and pineapple, or crushed shortbread cookies and apricot preserves.