Honey Pineapple Piña Colada Boats

This week is apparently New Zealand's first ever National Honey Week! Organised by Airborne Honey, the initiative aims to raise awareness and support for this natural resource from 25 November to 1 December, including having a "Make Something Yummy with Honey" competition. I've been making far too many desserts this month already, but with an amazing prize up for grabs (a behind-the-scenes experience with Geoff Scott at Vinnie's, in addition to a dinner for two, a cookbook and of course plenty of honey), I just had to participate.

A housewarming party in the weekend left us with an abundance of fruit, so I decided to make a glazed pineapple dessert. I based my recipe on one for pan-fried pineapple, with the boat presentation inspired by a dessert I ordered in Italy. I also had some homemade coconut ice cream  from my previous attempt at making my own coconut milk, which came together with the fruit to form a beautiful hot-and-cold tropical delight.

Honey pineapple piña colada boats.

A taster insisted there must have been alcohol in it, although I didn't use any; such was the aroma and depth of flavour this dessert had. Perhaps it was because the pineapple and coconut flavour combination reminded him of a piña colada. If I were to make this again, I would definitely add a splash of rum, and drizzle some caramel over the top (I've added this into the recipe below)!

Honey Pineapple Piña Colada Boats
Based on pan-fried pineapple and banana flambe recipes.

1 small, ripe pineapple
2 Tbsp (28g) butter
2 Tbsp (42g) honey
1/4 cup rum
coconut icecream, to serve

Preparation

1. Cut pineapple lengthwise into quarters.
2. Peel back the woody core from the bottom up, leaving it still attached at the leafy end.
3. Cut the pineapple wedge about 1 cm from the skin, to remove the juicy flesh.
4. With a toothpick, pin back the core to form a "sail".
5. Slice flesh into thick pieces.

Pineapple boats with flesh extracted.

Cooking

1. In a pan, mix butter and honey together over high heat. Cook for 2 minutes, until the mixture becomes golden.
2. Brown the pineapple pieces, about 2 minutes on each side.
3. Remove from heat and arrange the fruit slices onto the pineapple skin boat.
4. Add rum to the pan and return to medium heat.
5. Warm for a few seconds without stirring, then carefully tilt the pan so the rum ignites (if using an electric stove, hold a lit match near the sauce to ignite it).

Browning the pineapple slices.

Assembly

1. Place a scoop of ice cream next to the pan-fried fruit slices on the pineapple skin boat.
2. Drizzle the flaming sauce over the top.
3. Serve immediately and enjoy!