The second that I finished interviewing author Zoë Ferraris, I had to try Umm Ali. After multiple attempts to perfect the recipe, and about a million calories later, I think I have a winner. The best part is, the dessert looks deceptively fancy. By using frozen puff pastry, it cut down the prep time by half. Umm Ali would be a fun sweet to make for a Finding Nouf book club party. You can find out more about Zoë Ferraris’ page-turning mystery here.
Coconut Bread Pudding
Umm Ali
Yield: 12 servings Prep Time: 15 minutes Bake Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 package of frozen puff pastry (approx. 17 ounces)
3/4 cup of pistachios, shelled and chopped
1/2 cup of sliced almonds, set aside about 1/8 cup for the topping
1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes, set aside about 1/8 cup for the topping
1 15 oz. can of coconut milk
2 1/2 cups of water
½ cup pure cane sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
powdered sugar for dusting
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Set aside one of the frozen puff pastry sheets to defrost. Break the remaining frozen pastry sheets into 1-inch pieces. Place the puff pastry pieces on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden and puffed. Remove the pans from the oven.
3. Place the puff pastry pieces into a large bowl along with the nuts and coconut flakes. Stir everything together and scoop the mixture into a greased 9×12 baking dish.
4. In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk, ground cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, and water on medium heat for 4 minutes, constantly stirring with a whisk. Remove the mixture from the heat. Pour the coconut milk mixture over the puff pastry and nut mixture. Unroll the remaining puff pastry sheet and place over the coconut bread pudding. Bake at 400, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until the top turns a light golden brown.
5. Dust the dessert with powdered sugar and top with the remaining nuts. Enjoy!
Shared to facebook! Bread pudding is one of my absolute favs and this is beautiful. ❤
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Thank you Abbey. To be honest, this was my first time making bread pudding. Now I’m hooked 🙂
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Love this…and love that it allowed me to learn a bit more about you by reading you interview the Zoe Ferraris. Good luck with your writing!! I’m sure success and fulfillment will be yours!
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Thank you for such kind words. Part of my novel takes place in Crete. My hope is to make it interactive with Greek recipes that the characters enjoy. Fingers crossed 🙂
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Oh I love that idea! You have the makings of something great! Please keep us posted on your progress. How exciting!
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YUMMMMM
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It was super yummy 🙂
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Yumm! I am a huge fan of coconuts in my desserts. This is an absolute winner (:
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I love coconut too 🙂 I guess you can tell that by my blog. So happy you liked it!
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Beautiful capture and this looks scrumptious 😋
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Thank you Rateka. I’m so happy you liked it 🙂
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Ok! This looks and sounds amazing! I can’t wait to test this recipe out!
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Its addictive 🙂 I’m happy you liked it. Have a wonderful day!
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This looks good. Would phyllo dough work too? I have that in my freezer.
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Hi Karina. Although way healthier, I’m not sure if the phyllo would soak up the coconut milk mixture as well. I’m trying out new baklava recipes and will post it soon. It’s equally as yummy so save that phyllo dough 😉
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OK, thanks!
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Looks amazing! Love coconut flavour!
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Thank you Lina. So happy you stopped by 🙂
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Yet another beautiful recipe from you Ellie.💕 loved that cup and saucer. Classy and elegant😍 Bookmarking the link. I already am waiting to try your Mango Pudding once ripe mangoes are in, since it’s summer time here.
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Thank you for such kind words. The cup and saucer have been in my family for generations. It’s fun to get them out to photograph. Hope you have a lovely weekend!
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👌Beautiful click Ellie!!!Love the addition of coconut milk in Umm Ali 😍
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Thank you Nadi. I used the coconut milk to make it a little healthier, but who am I kidding 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful day!
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Interesting recipe. Seems to be very delicious. I’ll definitely ask my mom to try this once at home. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Nikesh. Maybe you could make it for your mom and surprise her 🙂 I hope you like it.
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I definitely will.
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I love anything and everything coconut. I love almomd and piscachio’s ! This recipe is calling my name 🙂 And, it really sounds easy to do …. 🙂 x
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I’m just like you, Lynne. I can’t get enough coconut, almonds, and pistachios. It is really quick to make. 🙂
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THIS! I will so try to make this 😀 It sounds really good!
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Yay. I hope you try it. It’s a fun dessert to make and super easy.
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Beauty on a plate! 🌷
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Thank you. Although it didn’t stay long on the plate 😉
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It wouldn’t at my house either! 🍓
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I love coconut! Looks yummy.
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Thank you Shannon. I love coconut to 🙂
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🙂
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A really lovely recipe 🙂
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Thank you. 🙂 It’s a fun one to make.
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Sweet Baby Jesus! This one gets bookmarked for sure! I love puff pastry but since I don’t love coconuts I will just leave that off. Do you think it would still work or do I need to substitute it with something else?
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Chocolate:) You can substitute the coconut milk with light cream or half in half. And instead of coconut flakes you could use chopped hazelnuts. The recipe is super versatile.
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That would definitely work for me! Love it!
Thanks 🙂
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Love coconut…such a wonderful recipe 🙂
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Thank you. I love coconut too 🙂
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Wow, Ellie, delicious! Almonds, pistachios and coconut – what can I say? I can’t wait to try this.
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Glad you liked it. 🙂
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Umm Ali with coconut milk sounds delicious!!!
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Thank you. I’m sure it would taste amazing paired with your mango lassi recipe. I love your blog 🙂
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It’s my pleasure!!
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Elle,
I am in heaven with this! 🙂
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Thank you. It would go amazing with your Warm Me Up Chai Tea Latte 🙂
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YES! I couldn’t agree more. 🙂
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This looks pretty and like a fancy dessert
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I Love anything coconutty..great recipe!
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OMG I can’t get enough of coconut! Thanks for commenting 🙂
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