Coconut Raspado With Jammy Plums
Raspado is a Mexican-style shaved ice traditionally topped with fruity, sweet syrups. They are sold by street vendors all over Mexico and often are found outside of schools, parks, beaches and just about anywhere on the streets of Southern California where kids are on the hunt for a sweet treat on a warm day. To make this raspado at home, start with a base of coconut milk. It takes a few hours of stirring and mixing to ensure that the raspado freezes evenly, but it’s low effort for a high reward. Scraping the coconut-based ice re-creates the fluffy texture and lightness of shaved ice. You can substitute the plums with another tart stone fruit such as peaches or apricots; their natural pectin creates a jammy compote that begs for a drizzle of condensed milk.
Place a 1½-quart baking pan or dish in the freezer for 2 hours or overnight before you prepare the raspado.
Make the raspado: Combine sugar, vanilla bean and seeds and ½ cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in coconut milk and ½ teaspoon salt and continue to whisk until all coconut solids have dissolved. Remove vanilla bean and discard. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool, about 15 minutes.
Pour the mixture into the frozen loaf pan and put back in the freezer, uncovered, for 1 hour. When the edges start to freeze, scrape lightly with a fork and mix into the center. Put back in the freezer and repeat this process every hour, scraping back the frozen parts into the soft parts so it freezes evenly. Repeat this process every hour for 3 to 4 hours until completely frozen.
Meanwhile, make the compote: Bring plums, cinnamon, maple syrup and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until plums are tender but still hold their shape, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the plums into a medium bowl. Continue to simmer the remaining sauce until it thickens and it gets syrupy, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, and stir in lemon and salt. Cool at room temperature. Add the syrup to the plums and gently stir with a silicone spatula until the plums are coated in the syrup.
When ready to serve, pull the loaf pan out of the freezer and leave it to stand at room temperature until it starts to soften and it is easy to scrape, 5 minutes. Use a fork to scrape the raspado into chunks and transfer into serving glasses or small bowls. Spoon some of the plums with their syrup into each glass, and top with a spoonful of condensed milk. Serve immediately.
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