As it soon will be time to say goodbye to readily available Oceanic food items, here is my farewell to my best culinary friend: the one and amazing coconut. I could go on and on about its health benefits (high in Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium…), not to speak its yummy taste which satisfies all sugar cravings. Although given its cooling energies, according to Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, I shouldn’t be having it for several months after having given birth. Hopefully my placenta pills (post to come!)  will make up for the lost qi/heat/prana. I simply can’t resist these awesome natural energizers which get me through the packing and moving frenzy (and birth!). I like coconuts in various shapes and forms. For instance, simple as it is, drinking the refreshing juice and spooning out the smooth flesh, making smoothies or best of all, in an amazing creamy, yet dairy free and healthy, coconut cake. If you live on a boat, you don’t have to worry about using the oven for this raw baby, just cooling is necessary.

Let me share this popular recipe as I make it one last time before packing up my little Sydney kitchen for a galley waiting for us somewhere in Europe… For the base mix a cup of

• your favourite nuts with
• 1/2 cup of your favourite dried fruit(s),
• a pinch of salt and
• the flesh of 1/2 coconut.

Mix all ingredients in the following order for the filling until you get a pancake-dough-like consistency:

• 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk
• meat of apprx. 2 young coconuts
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 2 pinches of sea salt
• 4 tbsp lecithin
• 3/4 cup coconut butter
• 3 tbsp of honey

Pour half of the filling on the base and put in freezer for a few minutes to set while you are preparing the second half:

• Add a couple of spoons of cocoa powder and
• a tbsp raw almond butter to the remaining filling.

Blend well and add on top of the first half. Garnish with what pleases your senses – fruit, berries, nuts, desiccated coconut… or nothing. You can keep the layers or stir through with a fork to get some nice creamy patterns. You could also decide to stop after the first layer and enjoy a pure white creamy coconut cake. Bon appetit!