Gasp!

Some shocking news:  I made a dessert tonight that contained no chocolate.  No cocoa powder, no chocolate chips, chunks or pieces.  Actually, it didn't contain any flour, eggs, or dairy.  Pretty much, we had fruit for dessert.  I think people that have fruit for "dessert" are weird.

Here's what went down.  We had friends coming for dinner and I didn't feel like cooking.  Thai takeout- check!  When serving a non-homemade meal to guests, I always bake something for dessert.  Chocolate cake seemed too heavy to pair with thai food, so I decided to make an angel food cake with mangos and whipped cream.   And then I got lazy.  Instead of baking cake, I cut up the mangos and tossed in some raspberries.  The kids had cara cara oranges for lunch, and though I wouldn't normally mix oranges with the other fruits, these are no ordinary oranges.  They are so sweet and delicious; I can't believe it took me 30 years to discover them.  So anyway, in went the oranges.

Not wanting to be one of those fruit-for-dessert-weirdos, I had to do something to kick it up a notch.  I decided to try the coconut milk whipped "cream" recipe that's been floating around the net.  Chill a can of coconut milk, pour the thicker white portion (in my can it was all but the bottom inch or so) into the bowl of an electric mixer, mix on high for 5 minutes and add a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract near the end of mixing.  Here is what I got:

You won't get it to beat to stiff peaks, but it does make a nice light and airy alternative to whipped cream.  Plus, it tastes like coconut, which in my book = delicious!  (Side note for my Boise peeps- Creme de Coconut ice cream at Goodies?  Awesomely full of toasted coconut and worth every calorie.  Do it.)

Dish the fruit into small bowls and top with coconut whipped cream.  Yum!

Blake, my tutu wearing taste tester, approves!