Coconut and Cheese Dessert

I threw together a quick dessert the other day with things from my pantry because I was in the mood to experiment.  It actually turned out well, so I figured I would share.

I made a syrup by simmering equal parts water and sugar, and added an equal part shredded coconut.  I poured about a centimeter of that into two ramekins and let it set in the freezer for a while for the syrup to harden a little and the ramekins to get very cold.  In the meantime, I mixed a couple of tablespoons of cream cheese with a tiny bit of powdered sugar, about a tablespoon of coconut milk, and the seeds of half a vanilla bean.  Separately, I ground up some leftover sugar cookies and stirred in some melted butter.

After the ramekins had been in the freezer for a little while, I pulled them out and spread the cream cheese mixture carefully over the firmed syrup.  Then I topped that with the cookie-crumb crust, and put the ramekins in the fridge to set for a couple of hours.  When Dan got home, we had dinner, and then I pulled out the little coconut-cheese ramekins, turned them out onto plates, and they didn't come out too bad.  I was hoping the syrup would harden a little more, more like coconut toffee which is made similarly, so that it would make a bit of a crust on top of the cheesecake-like layer, but instead some of it thickened while some of it stayed syrupy.  But, that worked out just fine.  I also toasted some coconut to add at the end.

I think my made-up dessert counts as a success.  It was really creamy and sweet, and the hint of the fresh vanilla bean added a nice subtle taste in the background.  I'm not very into sweets, but once in a while I do like something like this, where I can enjoy cheese for dessert.  Perhaps I'll try something like this with a citrusy spin.

Happy eating!