Instructions

1. Refrigerate the can of coconut milk until it's very cold, at least a day or two. If you need the cream of coconut at short notice, put the can of coconut milk in the freezer for an hour or two.

2. Open the top of the can of coconut milk. Before opening the can, make sure you don't tip the can over or turn it upside down. The fatty portion of the coconut milk floats to the top of the can and becomes coconut cream. The coconut cream partially solidifies at cold temperatures, making it easier to separate from the milk portion.

3. Spoon or ladle the partially solidified coconut cream. Dip the spoon or ladle into the top of the can, a little at a time, until you break through to the liquid milky portion of the can. Place the spooned off coconut cream in a separate cup or bowl. Discard the liquid remaining coconut milk or save it for other recipes.

4. Add sugar or sweetener to the separated coconut cream to make cream of coconut to use in pina coladas. Sweeten to taste, but a rule of thumb is that commercially prepared cream of coconut contains approximately 1 tablespoon of sugar or sugar equivalent for every one-half cup of coconut cream.

5. Pour equal amounts of prepared cream of coconut, pineapple juice and light rum into a blender full of ice and blend for the perfect pina colada.