Dark Chocolate Mounds.

I made a delicious cheesecake for Easter.  I didn't have any graham cracker crumbs, or graham crackers so I decided to use shredded coconut, specifically the shredded coconut from the last time I made coconut milk.  The cake turned out so good that I'm making another when we head to Grand Junction to visit my parents at the end of this month.

So I'm making coconut milk again.

I was sort of dreading it because of how difficult it was last time, but this time it was pretty easy.  I dunno if I got better at selecting a decent coconut or if I just had bad luck last time.  Whatever the case, I was pleasantly surprised.

So here's the recipe for the tapioca I made with my last batch of coconut milk:

1/3 c. small pearl tapioca
3/4 c. water
2 1/4 c. coconut milk
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs, separated
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Soak the small pearl tapioca in water for 30 minutes in a 1 and 1/2 quart saucepan.  Do not drain tapioca after soaking.  Add milk, salt, and lightly beaten egg yolks to tapioca and stir over medium heat until boiling.  Simmer uncovered over very low heat for 10-15 minutes.  Stir often.  Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. 1-2 minutes before folding in egg whites add 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder mixed with 2 Tbsp sugar to the tapioca.  Fold about 3/4 cup of hot tapioca into the egg whites, then gently fold mixture back into saucepan.  Stir over low heat for about 3 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes then add vanilla.  Makes 3 and 1/2 cups.

The recipe says nothing about letting the pudding set.  If you want a richer consistency I recommend making this a day or so ahead and letting it chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve it.

This pudding is not very sweet by normal standards.  It's perfect for me, but my sugar tolerance is pretty low, so if you normally like sweet things I would suggest adding about 1/4 cup of sugar to it when you add the milk, salt, and egg yolks.

So there you have it.
I'll post the cheesecake recipe later.