Tag Archives: coconut

Vegan Chocolate Coconut Ice

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Vegan Chocolate Coconut Ice

I miss primary school fêtes. I miss how the schoolyard looked and felt different when visited on the weekend in the sunshine, how the tables in the quadrangle adorned with homemade treats or “trash and treasure” seemed more alluring than any shopping mall ever could, and how much fun it was to run around wildly with friends without having to worry about a teacher yelling at us for going out of bounds.

I miss putting so much tomato sauce onto my sausage sizzle sausage that the flimsy white bread beneath grew soggy (but tangy!), and I miss buying a toffee cup for ten cents; I miss those toffee cups in muffin cases that were nothing more than caster sugar, water, and food colouring boiled together into discs then topped with sprinkles, ready to be sucked on for hours (or until accidentally dropped it in the dirt while playing tag).

Vegan Chocolate Coconut IceThere would always be at least one plate of coconut ice on the tables selling homemade goodies. A uniquely Australian treat, coconut ice is traditionally a pink and white layered confection made from coconut, copha, red food colouring, and either sweetened condensed milk or icing sugar and egg white.

Coconut ice is sweet, so sweet, and pretty, so pretty, and coconutty, so coconutty.

A few months ago, I remembered the existence of coconut ice and could suddenly think of naught but veganising it with the help of my enormous jar of coconut oil. In a vague nod towards being a Grown-Up rather than an seven-year-old girl with a sticky disc of half-licked toffee in her hand, I replaced the food colouring with cocoa powder and took the resulting gluten-free, dairy-free, definitely-not-sugar-free treat into work.

My colleagues may not have the same school fête memory associations with this vegan chocolate coconut ice as I do, but they seemed to love eating it all the same.

Vegan Chocolate Coconut Ice

Vegan Chocolate Coconut Ice

Makes 16-20 squares, or more if you prefer teensy bites.
Adapted from Taste

  • 250g desiccated coconut
  • 500g pure icing sugar, sifted
  • 200g coconut oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  1. Line a 20cm (8 inch) square pan with non-stick baking paper, allowing paper to overhang the sides. In a large bowl, stir together the coconut and icing sugar.
  2. Melt the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over low heat, then add the vanilla extract. Immediately pour this over the coconut and sugar mixture, then stir stir stir stir stir! It may take a bit of elbow grease to get all the sugar and coconut incorporated into the coconut oil.
  3. Once the mixture is combined and cohesive, divide in half. Press one half smoothly and evenly into prepared pan. Add the cocoa to the remaining half, and mix well until the coconut is evenly coloured.
  4. Press the chocolate coconut mixture over the layer already in the pan, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour or until set.
  5. Remove the coconut ice from the pan, and use a sharp knife to cut into small squares. Store in the fridge. You can either serve this straight-crispy-hard-cold from the fridge, or let it soften a little at room temperature first.
  6. Are you done yet? Have you finished eating? Can we go play Red Light, Green Light in the schoolyard now, please?

Submitted to Healthy Vegan Friday, Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love and 5 Ingredient Monday.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Salty Caramelised Peanut and Toasted Coconut & Cashew

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With any luck, today’s double chocolate review should see us free of Cadbury chocolate for the foreseeable future*.  I’d like to say it’s been swell, but we all know that would be a lie. In truth, it’s just been sugary.

To give Cadbury some credit, today’s bars were slightly less sweet-forward than the previously-reviewed Cookie Crunch and Peanut Butter bars. Slightly.

* Unless, of course, new flavours come out and are immediately put on sale at my local supermarket. Oh, the lure of cheap novelties…

Cadbury Dairy Milk Salty Caramelised Peanut

Cadbury Dairy Milk Salty Caramelized PeanutOnce again, I saw the French word “arachides” on the packaging here and immediately thought “Spiders! Arachnids! Get them away from me!” This led me to think about the spider chapter in Rowan of Rin, which even now gives me the heebie-jeebies, and then I started reciting the relevant prophecy in my head (“Let arms be still and voices low / A million eyes watch as you go / The silken door, your pathway ends / There fire and light will be your friends…”)

Then I paused to consider the fact that my mind can recall verses from a children’s book I read fifteen years ago, yet still can’t remember my postal code here in Toronto.

Ah well.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Salty Caramelized PeanutThe ingredients in this Cadbury Dairy Milk Salty Caramelised Peanut bar aren’t horrific. The chocolate is made from sugar, milk, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, and flavouring, while the caramelised peanuts are simply peanuts, brown sugar, sea salt, and flavouring. Hurrah for a bar without murky vegetable oils!

Cadbury Dairy Milk Salty Caramelized PeanutThe bar’s aroma was akin to a Reese’s peanut butter cup, with additional vanilla and honey notes. The chocolate had the standard caramel- and dairy-strong Cadbury milk chocolate taste, but the peanuts did add crispy-crackly interest to the mix.

The peanut flavour was pretty light and, despite the bar’s name, there wasn’t much salt to speak of. However, at certain points the overall flavour reminded me of sneaking multiple samples of Darrell Lea peanut brittle at the shopping centre with my brother while our parents weren’t looking (again, fifteen years ago now) on a weekend morning, and such nostalgic memories are never a bad thing.

(I miss my brother.)

Cadbury Dairy Milk Toasted Coconut and Cashews

Cadbury Dairy Milk Toasted Coconut and CashewsSo, hands up if you noticed that the review you just read was 10% insight into the chocolate and 90% remembrances from my childhood?

Gold stars for all of you. Let’s see if I can do better this time ‘round.

The aroma of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Toasted Coconut and Cashews was reminiscent of Golden Roughs, which I occasionally ate as a kid. However, more often than not, I’d spend my pocket money on Fun Dips, sour gummy worms, Redskins, and those tangy chewy Toffee Apple bars rather than Golden Roughs. In other words, the smell of this chocolate made me want a Fun Dip.

Childhood memory: check.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Toasted Coconut and CashewsThis chocolate was studded with a goodly number of toasted golden coconut shards and honey-roasted cashews. Each bite was a mix of caramelly-sweet Cadbury chocolate and the buttery-sugary-crackly-little-bit-like-praline-and-dulce-de-leche nuts and coconut. In small doses, the chocolate was quite enjoyable, but after eating half the bar in one sitting, the sugar had near burned my throat to doom with its cloying intensity.

Chocolate review: check.

I think I need my Lindt 90% palate cleanser now.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons, Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free

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Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons, Dairy-Free and Gluten-FreeTake one currently-effervescent soul.

Add a dozen handfuls of friendship which, whether old or newly established, feel entirely essential to existence.

Whisk in a pinch of excited nervousness, a teaspoon of adventure, and two cups of coconut.

Stir until the mixture is smooth, then add sugar to represent the sweetness of life, and bitter dark chocolate to provide balance through intensity.

Bind together with a scoop each of hope, courage, dedication, and laughter, and then watch as your treat is burnished gold by the radiant light of exponential happiness.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons, Dairy-Free and Gluten-FreeIf you’ve followed the recipe correctly, you should have before you two trays of heavenly-tasting chocolate chip coconut macaroons. They should be crisp on the outside, yet dense with gorgeous moist coconut-heavy sweetness inside. The flecks of dark chocolate will sing out their presence, and you’ll only feel a tiny bit nervous offering these homemade bites of wonderment to the spectacular people you’re interning for.

Don’t feel nervous. Chances are, your colleagues will love these dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate chip macaroons, almost as much as you love this life you’ve twirled into.

So go on, won’t you? Take one effervescent soul, and add a dozen handfuls of friendship.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons, Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free

Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons, Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free

Adapted from my Coconut and Cherry Macaroons
Makes about 30

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 tsp vanilla or maple extract
  • 2 cups desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate, finely chopped, or chocolate chips (I used unsweetened chocolate)
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F), and line two baking trays with baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl, lightly whisk together the egg whites and vanilla or maple extract, just enough to break it all up a little bit.
  3. Add the coconut, sugar, and chocolate, stirring to combine.
  4. Scoop, roll, or press (I’m an equal-opportunity shape-creator) a tablespoon’s worth of the mixture into a ball, then place on the baking tray. Repeat until finished, preferably whilst singing loudly and dramatically along to a selection of your favourite songs.
  5. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the macaroons are slightly golden on the outside.
  6. When taking the trays out of the oven, try not to set the tea towel you’re using as an oven mitt on fire. Otherwise you’ll find yourself shrieking and leaping around the kitchen like a mad thing, all the while thinking to yourself “FLAMES BE PRETTY OH SO PRETTY”.
  7. Let the macaroons cool before moving them from the trays, as they’re quite delicate while warm.
  8. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. Effervescently.

Pana Chocolate Coconut + Goji: Raw and Organic Dark Chocolate

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I’ve mentioned before that Australia’s raw chocolate scene is, at least in my experience, disappointing. Chalky grainy textures, sour undeveloped cacao flavours, and general misery are all things I’ve been subjected to by raw chocolate in my home country.

However, everything changed when my brother gave me a bar of Pana Chocolate* Coconut + Goji, a raw and organic chocolate handmade in Melbourne, Australia.

* Since receiving this chocolate, the company has changed its name from Conscious Chocolate to Pana Chocolate.

Pana Chocolate Coconut + Goji Raw Organic Dark Chocolate

Pana Chocolate Coconut + Goji Raw Organic Dark Chocolate

Before I go any further, might I please squeak out “adorable!” in a girly voice? I love Pana Chocolate’s packaging. I have no idea what the creature on the left is supposed to be (a vampire yeti, perhaps?) but look! He’s so friendly with the flowers and the giving! Aw!

Pana Chocolate Coconut + Goji Raw Organic Dark Chocolate

Oh, come now Pana. This is too much. Smiling little ghost-men, love hearts, *and* chocolate that is raw, organic, handmade, low GI, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free and made from cacao butter, agave nectar, cacao powder, coconut oil, wild carob, cinnamon, goji berries, coconut flakes, and Himalayan crystal salt? I can’t resist. I can’t resist you.

Pana Chocolate Coconut + Goji Raw Organic Dark Chocolate

Leaning close to this thick dark chocolate I took a deep breath, and quickly found myself smiling over a deeply rich aroma with notes of warm brownies and brownie batter, coconut rough, and the faintest hint of something fruity.

I took a bite. Oh, the texture! Like fudge, like silken buttery rich firm fudge melting in my mouth, with absolutely none of the graininess that often plagues raw chocolate.

Pana Chocolate Coconut + Goji Raw Organic Dark Chocolate

The generous long shards of coconut lent not only crunch but also a tropical undertone to the chocolate, and for the first time in my life I found myself loving goji berries. The red jewelled berries were so soft, so plump, and so lightly fruity without being too sweet. The chocolate itself was better than I’d even hoped, offering up whispers of woodsy smoke and tobacco alongside coconut sugar, palm sugar, fudgy brownies, and a tangy edge from the raw cacao. This bar was utterly rich, silky, and oh-so-satisfying.

Trust my brother to find a way for me to love Australian raw chocolate.

After all, he’s always taken care of me.

Hannah and her brother, Yorba Linda, Orange County

Vegan Rosemary Roasted Pumpkin Coconut Soup

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Sometimes, all you need are a few words, a few mere powerful words, with which to know your world. With which to paint your world.

Vegan Rosemary Roasted Pumpkin Coconut SoupGospel Rehearsal: hugs smiles music voices harmony hugs secretchatter smiles singing hugs friendship.

Work: typing phone committees reports updates laughter coffee airport chatting friendmaking stress emails deadlines typing.

Vegan Rosemary Roasted Pumpkin Coconut SoupFuture: dreams planning terrified trying pros cons emails health panic laughter warmth soulsister breathe.

Family: love support laughter teasingpoking hugs coffee strength always love.

Soup: roasted pumpkin forest rosemary golden simmer breathe smooth coconut richness vegan comfort spicy warmth calm.

Vegan Rosemary Roasted Pumpkin Coconut Soup

Vegan Rosemary Roasted Pumpkin Coconut Soup

Adapted from Taste.com
Serves 4

  • 1kg butternut pumpkin, deseeded, peeled, coarsely chopped (weighed after peeling/deseeding)
  • 1 tb finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1/4 cup olive oil (I used lemon-infused olive oil)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 large red onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp sambal oelek (or one small red chilli, chopped)
  • 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 cup coconut milk/cream
  1. Preheat oven to 220°C (430°F). Toss the pumpkin, rosemary, and half the oil together in a large roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper, then bake for 30 minutes until golden and tender.
  2. Meanwhile, sauté the onion, garlic, coriander, spices, and sambal oelek in the remaining oil over medium heat in a large saucepan until the onion has softened, 5-10 minutes. Add the pumpkin mixture and stock, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
  3. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth (you can also do this in a blender, but who really wants to do all of that extra washing up?).
  4. Add the coconut milk and reheat over medium-low heat until warmed through, taking care not to boil or else the coconut milk may split. Season again, then serve. This soup will keep in the fridge for a few days, developing in flavour in a most marvelous way.

Question Time: What are your words for today?

Submitted to Ricki’s Wellness Weekend.