It is fete season and coconut ice is a great recipe for the cake stall that sells out quickly. Easy to make and great to look at – you can’t go past this as a fete favourite. Useful items include a digital thermometer and cellophane self-sealing bags from $2 shops, and you can make your own trays – see tip below.
COCONUT ICE
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 40 mins + setting time (4 hours min)
Makes: 20–25 squares
Ingredients
- 6 cups of pure icing sugar, sifted
- 1 cup / 250ml of full cream milk
- 50g / 2oz of unsalted butter
- ¼ tsp of salt
- 1½ cups of desiccated coconut
- 1–2 drops of pink food colouring
- 50g / 2oz of moist shredded coconut
Method
- Line a 20cm x 20cm (7″ x 7″) tray with baking/parchment paper.
- Place the sifted icing sugar, milk, butter and salt in a heavy-based saucepan. Heat gently and stir constantly until sugar dissolves.
- Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. At this point, cease stirring the mixture.
- Using a digital thermometer, cook until it reaches soft boil stage (112ºC–118ºC / 235ºF–245ºF).
- Remove from the heat and add the desiccated coconut and stir through.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Pour half the mixture into the tray.
- With remaining mix, add a drop or two of pink food colouring, and stir through until the colour in even.
- Spread the pink mixture on top of the white, and then sprinkle with the moist shredded coconut, pressing down gently.
- Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, or best overnight.
- Cut into squares and place in bags. Label with ingredients if taking to a cake stall/fete.
TIP
Make little silver trays to place the coconut ice onto in the bag by using an old cardboard box cut to size, then cover with aluminium foil for a nice presentation.
Save time in the kitchen with the PlanBuyCook meal planning app, available or iPhone and iPad at the App Store.
