I had recently come across a different version of Tiramsu in the Tibits cookbook. Adding Coconut and Pineapple, seemed like an interesting take on a classic Italian desert. Normally, Tiramisu is prepared in a shallow dish, allowing you to get cut pieces out easily, even with all the creamy mascarpone. But, because it was his birthday, I wanted the non-cake to look more like a cake, or something equally celebratory – so I doubled the recipe and assembled it in my trifle dish. Beautiful to look at, but not very easy to serve. That didn’t stop my dear husband though to successfully blow out his candles and dig into his birthday dessert. He had a second helping and had more the next day. I call that a success.

During this time of extensive baking and lots of comfort food, I was craving some colour and a little healthy zing. I had a generous amount of butternut squash lying around in my fridge, as well as a can of coconut milk in my pantry that had been lingering for quite some time. Butternut squash soup seemed like the perfect solution – it’s nice and comforting, but I added a bit of Asian flavour to it for a different spin on a classic.

I don’t usually follow a recipe for my soups – that’s the beauty of a soup, you can throw in most anything and end of up with a great meal. Here is roughly what I did, but feel free to adapt. We served the soup with naan bread and I ate it cold the next day which was great as well. My daughter loved it and my son didn’t touch it, which was to be expected because it’s a vegetable.

Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut and Ginger

• 2 pounds of butternut squash, cubed
• 1 generous tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons of minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon of minced lemongrass
• 1/2 tablespoon of minced chilli
• water
• salt and pepper
• cilantro (optional)

Heat the oil in a deep soup pot, add garlic and cook until fragrant – less than a minute. Add the butternut squash and toss until covered in the oil and garlic, let warm a couple of minutes. Add the coconut milk, ginger, lemongrass, chilli and stir well. Add a bit of water to cover all the squash.

Cover with lid and let it cook on medium-high until squash is soft and breaks apart easily with a spatula. Use a immersion blender to smooth soup (If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular blender and blend it in batches. Watch out with the hot liquid). Once smooth, decide if you are happy with the consistency or add a bit of liquid if you like your soup not to be too thick. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve with chopped cilantro. Enjoy hot or cold.