Cream of Coconut
Cream of coconut is a heavily sweetened, thick coconut product — distinct from unsweetened coconut cream — sold canned and used as both a sweetener and a source of rich coconut flavour. Its high sugar content makes it more syrup than dairy substitute. It is the defining ingredient behind the Piña Colada's characteristic sweetness and body.
Common uses
- sweetener and coconut flavour base in blended tropical cocktails
Buying & storage
Weeks once opened: Opened, it is on a clock — oxidation flattens it well before the bottle looks empty. Refrigerate it and use it.
Storage: refrigerate after opening in a sealed container and use within a week; shake or stir well before using, as it separates
Before it goes
Use up cream of coconut
Ranked by how much of it each drink uses and how little else it needs — the ones at the top will not send you back to the shop.
- Painkiller
Uses 60ml. Also needs dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice.
- Virgin Painkiller
Uses 30ml. Also needs pineapple juice, fresh orange juice.
- Blue Hawaiian
Uses 30ml. Also needs white rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice.
Recipes
Cocktails containing this ingredient
Stand-in
Where cream of coconut is a recommended substitute
Recipes that name it as a swap for something else, with what it replaces.
- Bahama Mamain place of coconut cream
Swap it
Possible substitutions
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