Coconut Rum Paradise Bars (With Real Food Ingredients)
Posted: Thursday, December 15, 2011
by MKDS
Storm Multi-Media Technologies Ltd
Makes Approximately 36 square pieces
Ingredients:
1 can organic coconut cream or a coconut meat and coconut water from 1 young coconut or 300ml organic dairy cream (Coconut Cream is recommended)
2 to 3 shots of Jamaican Rum
40g organic coconut oil or 50g organic unsalted grass-fed butter (Organic Butter can be used) It is the oil/butter that holds the coconut squares together and helps the mixture set.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla beans
100g organic desiccated coconut (Shredded)
sweetener: 2 Tablespoon of organic rapadura sugar or 2 Tablespoon of maple syrup or 3 dates (blended with a bit of melted coconut oil or butter to form a smooth paste) [Rapadura Sugar is recommended]
200g chocolate*, to be melted
*I used Plain Milk Chocolate - but you can use any kind you like. You could also use Cocolo Chocolates (which are soy emulsifier free)
Directions:
Pre-soak the Cherries or Dried Raisins in Jamaican Rum for up to 6 hours before preparing the main ingredients, by chopping the cherries into quarters or just dropping the Dried Raisins into a small dish containing the Rum.
Heat coconut cream and coconut oil (or alternative ingredients) and sweetener. Heat until the sweetener and oil dissolve into the cream. Stir in the vanilla.
Turn off the heat and stir in the coconut, adding the Cherries or Dried Raisins at the same time (The Cherries or Raisins must be drained of all Rum). You want a doughy consistency and for it to not be watery at all.
Pour into a greased and lined square tin (you can use butter or coconut oil to grease it). Press down with the back of a spoon until the mixture is quite compact into the tin and does not come apart.
Cover the container with a plate or foil and place in the fridge overnight to set.
When set (it should be quite firm) cut into cubes and place back in the fridge (until after the next step).
Temper your chocolate (see below for details on how to do that). This helps your chocolate get a nice crack and shine and to help set the chocolate on your coconut squares (and it makes sure you don’t burn it).
Cover your coconut squares with chocolate: place your coconut squares in the middle of the bowl of chocolate. Cover the square with chocolate using a big spoon to make sure it is completely covered. Lift the chocolate covered coconut square off the bowl. Shake a bit of excess chocolate off.
Place your chocolates on a piece of baking paper until set. Enjoy!
Tempering Chocolate- You Will Need:
A metal bowl (wider than the saucepan)
Small bowl for Rum
Your chocolate of choice, chopped
A cooking thermometer
A smaller bowl, filled with water and ice
A metal or plastic spoon (not wooden)
A saucepan, filled with 3 cm of water
Tempering the chocolate:
Place your water onto a boil then turn down to a simmer and turn off the heat.
Place your metal bowl over the now hot water (and heat turned off) and add the chocolate. Stir the chocolate with your metal spoon until it melts. Put your thermometer in and make sure it doesn’t go above 48 degrees Celsius (118 F).
When it reaches 48 take it off the hot saucepan and put it in your ice water bowl. Keep stirring. Wait till it cools down to 26 degrees.
When it has cooled down, turn your saucepan on again and place your metal bowl over the saucepan, now with the heat on. Put the thermometer into the chocolate and wait till the temperature of the chocolate reaches 48. When it’s at that temperature, turn off the heat. Your chocolate is now ready to use!
Simply place your coconut square into the chocolate with a fork and completely cover it. Tap your fork with the covered coconut square against the side of the bowl so excess chocolate comes off. Then place your chocolates on a lined tray until the chocolates harden!
Tips for tempering chocolate:
Make sure you don’t get any water or steam in your chocolate at any stage while tempering. Water= chocolate death!
Use only metal or plastic spoons to stir the chocolate.
If you let your chocolate go over 48 degrees C then it’s gone- you can’t use it anymore.
It’s a good idea if you have one to use a thermometer to test the temperature when you’re heating a cooling the chocolate. I used a digital thermometer.
Having said all that, you don’t really need to temper the chocolate- but it does help to coat the coconut squares properly.
[This is an idea taken from the 1980’s Classic “Cabana” chocolate bar from Cadbury’s, who I have personally requested to be brought back. Unfortunately, Cadbury’s have revealed that they need a minimum of 1,000 requests for a Special Comeback, and that they are 250 requests short.]
© Marcus De Storm 2011
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Sounds ! Do you make this often? Maybe some day when I lose some weight, I could make these!Hi Fran, and no, not very often. I did make a mistake with the Rum, however, one should not put as (hic-up) much in as it can make (hic-up) one a little tipsy. Lol. Are you thinking of making some?
I was planning on making some for Easter, but we decided on a "Caramel Fountain", whey-hey, sugar rushes all round.
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