Coconut bars

Who doesn't love the combination of coconut and chocolate? These bars have a coconut and condensed milk filling, wrapped in dark chocolate.

Credit: The Chocolate Queen

• serves

  16

• prep

  1 hour

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 250 g pure icing sugar, sieved
• 225 g desiccated coconut
• 200 g sweetened condensed milk
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp lemon juice
• 1 kg good quality dark couverture chocolate 54%
• desiccated or shaved coconut, for sprinkling

Chilling time: 2 hours.

Instructions

1. Line the base and sides of a slice tin, approximately 275 mm x 175 mm and 32 mm in height, with baking paper.
2. In a bowl, combine the sieved icing sugar and desiccated coconut.
3. Add in the condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Mix to combine (see Note).
4. Press the mixture into the prepared slice tin and place into the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.
5. Once firm, cut the coconut slab into individual bars, 80 mm x 30 mm in size.
6. To temper the dark chocolate, place it into a microwave-safe plastic bowl, heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between. Once you have 50% solids and 50% liquid, stir vigorously until the solids have completely melted.
7. Using a toothpick and fork, dip each coconut bar into the tempered chocolate. Transfer to a sheet of baking paper.
8. Before the chocolate sets, finish with a sprinkle of coconut.

Note

• Before pressing into the slice tin, if the mixture appears too sticky, add more coconut. Alternatively, if the mixture appears too dry, add more condensed milk.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.