Tag Archives: coconut

Tibits chocolate and coconut macaroons (GF)

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chocolate and coconut macaroons

Before anyone says ‘they’re the worst looking macarons I’ve ever seen’ I should make it clear that these are definitely meant to be macaroons – the simple, coconutty treat; NOT macarons, the perfectly round, brightly coloured, dainty French delicacies.

I have to admit though, even going up against other macaroons these aren’t going to be winning any beauty prizes. What were supposed to be lovely little pointed mounds completely spread as soon as they went into the oven, and left me with the flat, cracked, sort-of-macaroons you see here.

The recipe for these comes from tibits at home, a new cookbook from the chefs at tibits, a vegetarian (and largely vegan) restaurant in London.

The lovely people at Tibits very kindly offered me the chance to visit the restaurant for a review, but as it’s in London and I’m in Cornwall it seemed a little far to venture for dinner, so I settled for a copy of the cookbook so I could try and knock up some restaurant-quality vegetarian delights at home (in theory…)

The book is split into seasons, which I think is a great approach and definitely helpful in choosing recipes that suit the time of year. Each season has a wide variety of recipes, from soups and salads to main meals and desserts, with some interesting hot and cold drinks thrown in as well.

Pretty much every recipe has a picture of the finished dish, which is a big plus for me – I like to at least have an idea of what I’m aiming for! The instructions are clear and simple to follow, and considering these are all restaurant dishes for the most part they don’t use any tricky techniques or fancy equipment, so they are definitely achievable for the home cook.

Tibits lasagne – mine wasn’t quite so pretty….

The two negatives I found were that some of the recipes don’t state how many portions it will make – in some cases common sense will give you an idea, but in others I could end up making a meal for two or a meal for 10 and I wouldn’t know which until it came out of the oven.

*EDIT – Tibits have kindly pointed out that it states in the intro that recipes serve 4 so this was my mistake!*

The other slight downside is that some of the recipes call for ingredients that aren’t too readily available if you live out in the sticks like I do. I can’t say I’ve seen sambal oelek, dried string beans or blanc battu in my local Tesco recently…

When it came to deciding which dishes to try, I know I should have gone to the Spring section, but it’s been so hideously cold recently that instead I chose two from Winter.

Firstly I made a spinach and feta lasagne (pic of their version above), which I was very impressed with – looking at the ingredients list it sounds like it could be a bit plain, but the flavours are all fresh and complement each other perfectly.

Obviously the second recipe had to be a cake or bake, and that leads me back to the chocolate and coconut macaroons.

Taste and texture wise they turned out exactly as I had hoped – sweet and chewy with bite from the coconut and a richness from the chocolate. I think it’s more likely to be baker error that lead to the slightly dodgy appearance than any fault with the recipe so I may have to try again and pipe them into shape to see if that helps.

Thanks again to Tibits for sending me the book to review – there are lots more recipes I’m looking forward to trying so it’s a very gratefully received gift, and I hope I get to visit the restaurant at some point in the future, to see how the recipes are done professionally.

Chocolate and coconut macaroons (slightly adapted from tibits at home)

  • 1 medium egg white
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 50g dark chocolate
  • 80g desiccated coconut
  • optional – 25g dark chocolate to drizzle

Melt the dark chocolate in a small bowl and set aside to cool. Whisk the egg white with an electric mixer, gradually adding the sugar as you go until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Fold in the coconut and melted chocolate, then either pipe onto a baking tray or spoon the mixture on into 12-15 small rounds. Bake at 150 degrees for 15-20 minutes, then leave to cool on the baking tray. Melt the remaining chocolate and spoon into a small piping bag, then drizzle over the top of the macaroons and leave to set.

Banana and coconut loaf cake (GF)

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When one of my colleagues recently went on maternity leave, naturally I wanted to see her off with a cake, as you do.

Unfortunately things didn’t go quite to plan – she ended up being a bit too pregnant to travel to the office, and apparently is allergic to bananas anyway (how I have known her two years without finding that out I have no idea!)

Anyway, with the pony on hand cake never goes to waste, and a few other people at work had a slice too, including my colleague who can’t eat wheat flour and always appreciates a wheat free bake.

 

This banana and coconut cake combines two of my favourite flavours with a delicious texture and the cream cheese icing finishes it off nicely as the cake itself isn’t too sweet.

The original recipe came from Tart to Heart, a blog which, if you haven’t already seen it, is amazing – I highly recommend you go look and drool immediately!

Banana and coconut loaf cake (GF) (Recipe adapted from Tart to Heart)

  • 120g gluten free plain flour
  • 100g oat flour
  • 40g desiccated coconut
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 large, very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 250ml coconut milk
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 35g sunflower oil
  • 45g greek yoghurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Sieve the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and nutmeg into a bowl with the coconut and stir in. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, coconut milk, sugar, oil, yoghurt, eggs and vanilla, then add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir well until just combined.

Pour into a lined 2lb loaf tin (I think mine is about 9×5″) and bake at 180 degrees for about an hour, or until risen and a skewer comes out clean.

Cream cheese icing

  • 100g cream cheese
  • 50g butter
  • 100g icing sugar

Beat the butter to soften, then add in half the cream cheese and all of the sugar and beat until no lumps remain. Add the remaining cream cheese and beat until just combined. Chill in the fridge to firm up, then spread on top of the cooled cake.

Scottish Tablet

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Once again I am cutting it rather fine, but I really love the idea of the Best of British blogging challenge, so I really wanted to make something for this month’s region – it’s just taken a while to find the time to do it!

Sponsored by New World Appliances and hosted this month by Janice at Farmersgirl Kitchen, the region is Scotland – a place I’ve only visited once, so a bit more of a challenge for me than Cornwall was!

I did quite a bit of research for traditional recipes, but in the end settled on a recipe from one of my newest cookbooks, Home Made Sweet Shop, for a traditional Scottish Tablet.

The book describes tablet as being a cross between fudge and toffee, with the same grainy texture as fudge but a bit harder.

It was supposed to be a plain vanilla tablet, but that phrase ‘gilding the lily’ was apparently made for me so I made a last minute decision to press some freshly picked raspberries into it and sprinkle desiccated coconut on top – which looks very pretty, but now means that I can’t give it as a gift as I was planning too because the raspberries won’t keep long enough – oops!

Luckily the pony is on a mission at the minute to put on weight (the total opposite to my life goal), so the 2,500+ calories in this will hopefully help him out a bit…

The other problem it caused was less easily fixed however; the lovely, fresh, juicy raspberries actually released their lovely juice into the tablet, stopping it from setting properly. So now I know, fresh fruit and tablet/fudge do not mix!

I halved the original recipe, and it was a good job I did as even with these quantities it nearly filled my largest saucepan when it was at its peak of bubbling – so be warned if you do make the full amount! The recipe below omits the fruit but if you really want to repeat my mistake, feel free to throw some in!

Scottish Tablet (adapted from Home Made Sweet Shop)

  • 450g caster sugar
  • 60g butter
  • 75ml full-fat milk
  • 75ml water
  • 130g condensed milk
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract

Put the sugar, butter, water and milk into a LARGE pan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Increase the heat a little and bring to a boil – not stirring at all – until it reaches 114 degrees on a sugar thermometer. Remove from the heat, stir in the condensed milk, then return to the heat and boil again, until it reaches 116 degrees, then pour into a heatproof bowl and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

When cooled a little, whisk with an electric whisk for 2-3 minutes, until it lightens and thickens quite a bit. You can beat it with a wooden spoon, but I find the whisk method a lot quicker and more effective. Spread into a 9″ loaf tin, lined with baking paper (if you’re making double quantities, use an 8×8″ square tin).

Leave for 4-5 hours to set before removing from the tin and cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container.

Coconut, blackberry and raspberry crown cupcakes

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These crown cupcakes are the first of my two ‘fit for a queen‘ competition entries (which won me third place, in case I hadn’t mentioned!)

They’re kind of a royal-ed up version of my coconut and strawberry cupcakes, based on the same sponge recipe but with a raspberry curd filling and blackberry and raspberry cream cheese icing, and of course the golden crowns on top.

I think the corgi tarts seemed more popular at the competition, but I actually preferred these as I’m all about the fruit in the summer, and I love the coconut and berry combination.

I’m also especially proud of these because I seem to finally be getting the hang of piping icing onto cupcakes in a bit of a fancy pattern!

I won’t lie, these are pretty time consuming and do use some slightly hard to find ingredients, but I think they are well worth the effort for a special occasion!

Coconut, blackberry and raspberry crown cupcakes (based on this recipe):

Makes 9 cupcakes

  • 30g desiccated coconut
  • 105g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 85g butter
  • 135g caster sugar
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 90ml coconut milk

For the filling, icing and decoration

  • 2 tbsp raspberry curd (recipe here)
  • 200g cream cheese
  • 100g butter
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 10g freeze-dried blackberries
  • 10g freeze-dried raspberries
  • 30g white candy melts
  • edible gold paint

To make the cupcakes, follow the method here (the ingredients listed above are half the quantities of the original recipe but that’s the only difference).

To fill the cupcakes, use an apple corer to make holes in the centre of each, then spoon in a little raspberry curd before replacing the bits of sponge you removed.

To make the icing, grind the freeze-dried berries in a food processor into dust, then add to the icing sugar. I had to order them in at a local health food shop, so if you can’t find any I think fresh berries would probably work too, but I really wanted to use freeze-dried for the amazing colour and also so they wouldn’t affect the consistency of the icing.

Beat the butter to soften, then add in half the cream cheese and sift in the icing sugar and berries. Beat until well mixed and no lumps remain, then add in the second half of the cream cheese and quickly beat again, just enough to combine everything. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes, then pipe on top of the cupcakes – I used a Wilton star nozzle but any would be fine.

To make the crowns, I used an ingredient that’s completely new to me, but that may be down to a sheltered life – candy melts.

They’re essentially like chocolate buttons, except they set harder and don’t require any tempering – perfect for chocolate decorations. I’m not sure how widely available they are but I got mine at a specialist kitchen and bakeware shop. I used a roll of baking paper to pipe the crown shapes on to, then slid them off once they were completely set. They were quite fragile and some did break, but you can use a some more of the white melts as a glue to fix them up.

I then painted the crowns gold with an edible paint, giving them two coats for a really nice colour. You can buy edible paints online and in baking shops, but I found mine at a local pannier market for a bargain £2.75!  Pop the crowns on top of the cupcakes, and there you have it – coconut, blackberry and raspberry cupcakes, fit for a queen!

Coconut cupcakes with strawberry jam hearts (GF)

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Coconut cupcakes have been on my mind for ages now.

Originally I planned to make pina colada cupcakes with a pineapple curd filling, but the curd recipe didn’t turn out great so I put them on hold; then it was going to be coconut and Nutella, but I didn’t have any; then a white chocolate coconut ganache filling, but that didn’t work, so FINALLY I settled on simple coconut cupcakes with strawberry jam filling and coconut cream cheese icing!

I wanted to make these to take into work so they had to be wheat and gluten free, so I adapted the recipe for the cupcakes from this one at Cooking Classy, and subbed regular plain flour for gluten free.

The only other change I made was slightly altering the egg quantities, so I was really pleased when these baked with a nice, light but not dry texture, as I know sometimes GF flours can be a bit tricky to work with.

The cupcakes went down really well with everyone who tried one, and the cream cheese icing, adapted from a Dan Lepard recipe was a revelation – it’s the first one I’ve made that didn’t need half a box of icing sugar but was the perfect consistency, not at all runny!

Oh, and I almost forgot – I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of fancy piping techniques! Although the sprinkling of coconut on top can hide all manner of sins…

Coconut cupcakes with strawberry jam hearts (adapted from Cooking Classy)

Makes 16-18 cupcakes

  • 50g desiccated coconut
  • 210g gf plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 170g butter
  • 270g caster sugar
  • 3 whole eggs, one egg white
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 185ml coconut milk

For filling and icing

  • 2 tbsp strawberry jam
  • 200g butter
  • 200g icing cugar
  • 400g cream cheese
  • 50g desiccated coconut, plus extra for decoration

Start by grinding the desiccated coconut in a food processor to get it as fine as you can. Add it to the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs a little at a time, followed by the vanilla. Fold in 1/3 of the flour/coconut mix, then 1/3 of the coconut milk, then repeat, folding in alternately until all the ingredients have been used.

Line a cupcake tin with cases and spoon the mixture into them, about 2/3 full. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes or until risen, golden and a skewer comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

To fill with the jam, I use an apple corer which cuts really need holes in the cakes (dodgy picture below as it was getting dark) – you could use a knife to cut holes if you want though. Heat the jam a little to make it easier to pour, then add a little into the hole of each cupcake and place the tops back on.

For the icing, beat the butter to soften, then add in the icing sugar and half the cream cheese. Using an electric mixer, beat until no lumps remain and it looks light and creamy. Add the remaining cream cheese and coconut, beat quickly until just combined, then leave in the fridge for half an hour to firm up a bit before piping or spooning on to the cupcakes. Sprinkle a little more coconut on top and you’re done!

Peshwari naans

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Slightly fed up with the never ending stream of sweet treats that I really shouldn’t eat sitting around in the kitchen to tempt me, this weekend I decided to do some savoury baking (as well as a chocolate truffle pie for the pony which I’ll blog about soon!)

A little while ago, I attempted some curried naans for my first ever Random Recipes challenge. They turned out ok, but I wasn’t too impressed with the frying method, so this time I decided to try a baked recipe.

The basic naan dough is really simple, and you could add in whatever flavours you want – if I go to an Indian restaurant I usually order a peshwari naan which is what inspired the flavours in this.

I would definitely make these again, although possibly with apple sauce added to the filling for a bit of extra moistness and sweetness- I’ve seen it in a couple of recipes and thought it sounded quite interesting, so if anyone has tried it and can let me know if it works that would be great!

Peshwari naans (adapted from Curry Focus)

Makes 3

  • 2 tbsp warm water
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp dried yeast
  • 250g plain white flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
  • 75ml warm water
  • 3 tbsp ground almonds
  • 3 tbsp desiccated coconut
  • 3 tbsp sultanas

Note – you need to start this in the morning to be ready for dinner!

Dissolve the sugar in the 2tbsp warm water, then sprinkle the yeast on top and leave for 20 minutes. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture, yoghurt and water. Bring the mixture together using your hands, then turn out onto a lightly oiled surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, or until soft and pliable. Put the ball of dough back in the bowl, cover with lightly oiled clingfilm and leave for 6 hours to rise.

After 6 hours, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times to knock the air out. Divide into three pieces, then roll each out into a square-ish sort of shape. Sprinkle one tbsp of almonds, coconut and sultanas in the middle of each.

Fold in the corners of each piece of dough to cover the filling and pinch together the edges. Turn over, and roll out again, into a roughly tear-drop shaped flat bread. Prick with a fork then place on a baking tray.

Bake at your oven’s hottest temperature for about 10 minutes, turning half-way through, then finish off under a hot grill to brown each side. Serve with an Indian dish of your choice – we had them with a vegetable biryani and it was delicious!

Coconut and lemon cream sandwich cake

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With the gorgeous weather we’ve had this past week, baking with winter flavours has been out – bright, light, summery baking was needed to see in the spring.

This coconut and lemon cream sandwich cake fits the bill perfectly with two of my favourite fresh flavours combined in a simple but tasty cake.

The only downside of this cake was that I went a little over the top with the filling – after a 20 minute drive to work it had all spilled out the sides and needed quite a bit of a tidy before it was fit to be seen!

Another reason I loved this cake was that I got to use my new cake plate and dome that I was given for my birthday for the first time  - finally I can present my baking in something slightly nicer than a tupperware tub!

Coconut and lemon cream sandwich cake (my own recipe)

Cuts into 8 big slices

  • 225g butter
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • zest and juice of 1 lime
  • 75g desiccated coconut
  • 225g self raising flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 3-4 tbsp lemon curd (I made mine following the Pink Whisk’s recipe)
  • 150ml double cream

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the lime zest and juice and coconut. Sift in the flour and baking powder and lightly fold into the mixture. Divide between two greased and lined 8″ round cake tins, and bake at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until risen and golden and a skewer comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool, then spread the lemon curd on top of one half. Whip the cream until it holds its shape, then spread on top of the lemon curd. Top with the second sponge, then dust with icing sugar to serve.

Flour, sugar and dairy free chocolate fudge bites

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My next door neighbour Jo has, for some reason I will never understand, given up flour, sugar and butter for lent. Insanity!

I didn’t really like the idea of going 40 days without taking her any baked goods, so when I saw these German chocolate fudge bites on Chocolate Covered Katie I knew instantly they would have to be made for Jo.

As well as being free of pretty much everything bad for you, they’re also incredible quick and easy to make, and use just four ingredients (possibly four of my favourite ingredients) AND are only 50 calories each!

Sounds too good to be true, but they really do work!

Flour, sugar and dairy free chocolate fudge bites (recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie)

Makes 15 small bites

  • 120g pitted dates
  • 50g pecan nuts
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra to coat
  • 2tbsp desiccated coconut

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until everything is well-chopped and well-mixed. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and knead until it comes together. Roll out 15 small truffle-sized balls, and chill in the fridge for half an hour. Roll each bite in more cocoa powder before serving.

Fudgy coconut brownies

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With all the hectic Christmas baking that’s taking place at the minute, I needed something quick, easy and chocolatey to feed the friendly pony.

He hasn’t been best pleased, seeing me make biscuits, truffles and cakes to be given away as gifts, rather than eaten by him, so I wanted to make something that he could have all to himself.

Enter these fudgy coconut brownies, from the BBC Good Food site.

I’ve had them bookmarked for a while, but never got round to making them – I’m always seduced by more complex looking recipes!

More fool me, as these were great – thick, dense, chocolatey and definitely fudgy, with the coconut adding a subtle flavour and also some chewiness to the texture.

You’d never guess that they were made with cocoa rather than melted chocolate – a definitely winner!

Fudgy coconut brownies (from BBC Good Food):

Makes 16 squares

  • 100g cocoa powder
  • 250g butter
  • 500g caster sugar
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 100g desiccated coconut
  • 100g self raising flour

Grease and line an 8×8″ square tin. Put the butter, cocoa and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until melted – keep stirring so it doesn’t stick on the bottom. When the butter has melted and sugar dissolved, beat in the eggs one at a time, then fold in the coconut and self raising flour. Pour the mixture into the tin, then bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes – the top should crisp up and a skewer should come out with damp crumbs. Leave to cool, then cut into squares and serve.

Coconut and raspberry loaf cake

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After one of my colleagues bought a delicious banana and raisin loaf into work last week, I’ve found it hard getting loaves off my mind.

I think sometimes they get a bit overlooked in favour of fancier cakes piled high with icing, or cupcakes and bars that come in convenient bite size pieces – but that’s a shame as boring shape doesn’t at all mean boring taste!

I first made this loaf a few months ago, as a thank-you present for my aunt and uncle for letting me stay at their house. Unfortunately I didn’t get to try any then, so I knew I’d make it again at some point.

It’s adapted from a Levi Roots recipe for a simple coconut loaf, but with a handful of raspberrries thrown in to make it even more delicious.

The original is my go-to for a basic coconut sponge, as the addition of lime really makes it taste tropical and delicious, and the texture is perfect.

Make this cake!!

Coconut and raspberry loaf cake (adapted from a Levi Roots recipe):

  • 175g butter
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • zest and juice of 2 limes
  • 50g desiccated coconut
  • 175g self raising flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 200g raspberries
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the lime zest and juice. It’ll probably look a bit curdled at this point, but don’t worry. Beat in the desiccated coconut then sift in the flour and baking powder and fold until just combined. Toss the raspberries in a little flour (to stop them sinking) then layer up the cake batter and raspberries into a medium sized greased and lined loaf tin. Bake at 180 degrees for about 50 minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer comes out clean. Slice thickly and enjoy!