‘doce da casa’ – house dessert

This is another favourite of mine… I could eat this dessert every day without getting sick of it. Fact. ‘Doce da casa’ is a typical dessert available in most typical Portuguese restaurants. My vegan version of it is just as tasty, indulgent and addictive as the non vegan one. Give it a try and let me know what you think! 🙂

Time: 20 min + a couple of hours in the fridge to set 

Difficulty: 2 pans 

Type: dessert 

Serves: 5 individual servings 

What you need:
Layer 1:

1.5 cups soya milk

1 piece of lemon skin

2 tbsp maple or agave syrup

3 tbsp cornflour mixed with a little water

A drop of vanilla essence 

Layer 2:

10 rich tea biscuits (or vegan Maria type)

150 ml instant coffee

Layer 3:

1 can full fat coconut milk

1-2 tbsp maple or agave syrup

1/2 teaspoon vegetable gelatine powder

A couple of crushed biscuits for decoration

Utensils:

Small pan

Measuring cup and mixing spoons

2 Small bowls, 1 for the cream and 1 for the coffee

Hand mixer with the whisk attachment

Individual dessert containers 

Directions:

Layer 1: pour soya milk, syrup, vanilla essence and lemon skin into a sauce pan and bring it to a boil in low heat, stirring frequently; when the milk is hot, mix in the cornflour (previously dissolved with a little water) and stir well, removing from heat when it starts bubbling and is thick enough (a bit thicker than custard)- don’t forget to remove the lemon skin! Pour evenly in dessert containers;

Layer 2: Dip each biscuit in the instant coffee (only for about 2 seconds) remove and place on top of layer one (I put 2 biscuits in each); if you like coffee a lot you can pour over the biscuit 1 or 2 more tbsp of coffee;

Layer 3: Empty the coconut milk into a cold mixing bowl (if there’s a clear separation between water and solid, use only solid and add a bit of water if needed when whisking- I used a full fat coconut milk that I had at room temperature and it was all mixed into a thick cream and, worked well), add syrup and gelatine powder and whisk at low speed to start with, increasing towards the end until soft or stiff peaks form;

Pour coconut cream over biscuits, add crushed biscuits on top for decoration and refrigerate for at least 2h before serving. Enjoy!