A Creamy Cardamom Frozen Dessert for Summer

Many of you may be able to relate to this. For most recipes I grew up with, I can't just google the name for the dish to figure out what ingredient I'm missing or what temp to set the oven to. When I do, I typically get something completely different.

The perfect example is the frozen dessert I grew up eating called Cassata. In a google search, it's an Italian spongy cake. No freezing involved.

Regardless of what it's called or the evolution of deserts as people migrate from one continent to another, the recipe I'm about to share with you is perfect for the season of summer. It combines sweet coconut flavors, aromatic cardamom, a cookie chewiness, and melting creamy textures that will leave the friends at your backyard gathering very pleased and satiated.

I learned this recipe from my mom and adapted it using ingredients I typically have around my house. Thanks mom!

Ingredients

5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
1 can condensed coconut milk
1 part (use condensed milk can for measuring) oat milk, plus 1 cup for cookie dipping
4 eggs
Maria or lady finger cookies
4 tbsp of sugar
1 cup of heavy whipping cream

Start by adding 1 cup of oat milk and cardamom pods to a deep flat dish and set aside. 

Separate egg yolks from whites. Mix condensed milk, oat milk, and egg yolks together. Pour mixture into a small to medium saucepan and cook until it just barely starts to bubble and slightly thicken. Pour into a 9 x 12 inch glass backing dish.

Back to that milk and cardamom mixture. Dip cookies in mixture one by one as you lay each cookie over the cooked milk mixture. Lay them right up against each other if using lady fingers and overlap them if working with Maria cookies. Fill every corner.

Whip egg whites and add the sugar slowly. Whip heavy cream and mix into beaten egg whites. Add this as a top layer over top the cookie layer.

Cover and pop in the freezer for at least 4 hours. After leaving in the freezer over night, the dessert will be very hard to cut. I recommend letting it sit for a few minutes, then using a pastry scraper to apply even pressure as you cut. Serve as squares with a cardamom pod at the center of each slice.

Excited to make this but want a bit more guidance? Join me on Instagram live on Wednesday 6/15 at 9am PST (rescheduled from Wednesday) to ask questions and make this delicious dish along side with me.