For the last few years, our neighbors have thrown a Hawaiian-themed dinner party, and this was the first year Jack and I were in town and able to attend.
To make this sit-down dinner as authentic as possible, Pat (our hostess) assigned each couple a genuine recipe of the islands to prepare.
By the time I accepted the invitation, (last minute) the menu was set. Pat, (kind and gracious as always) trusted me to prepare a tropical dessert of my choice.
The first thing that came to mind, was my pudding made of pineapple, toasted coconut and rich and creamy homemade ricotta. This seemed like the perfect choice.
The party, complete with Hawaiian dancers, fantastic food and fun friends, made for a memorable evening. Thanks Pat and Mike!
This recipe for the frozen version of the pudding came about because I had a cup of pudding that didn’t fit in the dessert dishes … so I froze it. When I later defrosted the pudding, I discovered it was delightfully refreshing in a partially frozen state.
I made a fresh batch, froze it in cake-pop molds, (espresso brownie pops) covered each in chocolate, dipped in toasted coconut … voila! … Frozen Italian Pudding Pops.
Ingredients:
- Budino di ricotta (one recipe)
- Bittersweet chocolate, melted
- Coconut, toasted
- Make the recipe for Budino di Ricotta.
- Pour into cake-pop molds, insert sticks and freeze for several hours. (No sticks? No problem, unmold pops, set on a dessert plate and call them Frozen bon bons).
- Unmold pops, dip in melted chocolate and toasted coconut. Return to freezer until ready to serve.
- To serve, remove from freezer, let sit on counter 35-45 minutes to soften.
