A Happy and Tasty Accident: Whipped Coconut Cream Became Cream of Coconut Maple Frosting

I was trying to follow an interation of this recipe to make whipped topping for my chocolate/pumpkin pudding, and ended up with maple-flavored frosting instead. Here's how I got there:

The recipe I should've been following

How-to Make Whipped Coconut Milk Cream

Step 1: Buy a can of full fat coconut milk.

Step 2: Place it in the fridge overnight.

Step 3: Open the can without shaking it or turning upside down.

Step 4: Carefully spoon out the top layer of opaque white stuff that has gathered at the top of the can. Spoon into a mixing bowl. You will be left with about 1/2 cup of white syrup-y looking translucent liquid. Leave this in the can. Note: I use this leftover liquid in numerous coconut-y recipes. Plus, it makes a great coconut syrup - almost like a hydrated extract of coconut flavor.

Step 5: Add 2-3 Tbsp of powdered confectioners sugar to the white stuff. Optional: add cinnamon, vanilla bean - any small amount of flavor you'd like.

Step 6: Grab a hand beater (simple mixers work just as well as expensive ones)

Step 7: Whip the coconut milk froth until creamy. Start on low and move to a higher speed, move the beater in an up and down motion to infuse the mixture with as much air as possible.

Step 8: Serve! You can spoon on top of ice cream, for cream pies, into coffee latte mugs, or eat with a spoon - I guarantee you'll be licking those beaters. And the bowl.

In my usual use-what-you-got fashion, I faltered right from Step 1. I didn't have full-fat coconut milk, so I used a can of cream of coconut--same stuff, right? WRONG! Never having bought or used coconut cream before, I didn't know any better. I forged ahead anyway.

Using cream of coconut allowed me to skip all the way to Step 5, where I faltered next--the powdered sugar, which we don't keep around here. I have Sucanat instead, so I used it, and predictably, it turned the project tan-colored. Now instead of a vanilla-looking project, I had something that suggested to me that maybe I ought to make it taste like it looked. Vanilla flavoring was out, and maple flavoring was substituted.

The actual recipe rendition I was using suggested using tapioca flour or coconut flour to thicken it, which I did, by adding 1 T. at a time, for a total of 4T. After processing furiously to get it to fluff somehow, I decided to put it in the fridge and try again later.

After dinner, I tried again, but the food processor had trouble getting this stuff to spin. When it warmed up a little, it would spin, but still wouldn't fluff. Undaunted, I simply layered pudding, maple frosting, then pudding again into clear dessert dishes, and called it a parfait.

I gotta tell you--if you're looking for a real good-consistency buttercream-like frosting, this is it. For a whipped topping, you'd best follow the directions and not stray off the beaten path like I did.

Thankfully, my coconut milk shipment arrived later that day, and I intend to try again (as soon as I make more pudding). When I get around to making carrot cake, I'll definitely keep this Maple Mistake in mind for frosting.

Can it be piped? I don't know--I don't do that. Try it out and report back.

Now it's off to buy powdered sugar. The coconut milk is already in the fridge!

UPDATE: Apparently I don't need to buy or use any sugar at all--the cream of coconut is already a sweeter product than the cream from a can of coconut milk, so I can omit the sugar entirely next time I choose to take the frosting path. Maybe it'll whip if I chill equipment and leave out the tapioca flour entirely? We'll see next time.