These chocolate covered coconut bars somewhat resemble Bounty bars. They are a little bit less sweet, though, and have a softer texture. The full coconut flavour comes from coconut milk and desiccated coconut. The base is cooked, chilled and dipped in delicious milk chocolate. If you wish, you can add a bit of white chocolate to the base, while it's still hot. It can only make it ever richer.
Ingredients
500 ml coconut milk
200 ml double cream
100 grams cornflour (corn starch)
1 tablespoon plain flour
100 grams sugar
50 grams desiccated coconut
150 grams butter, diced
300 grams milk chocolate
5-6 tablespoons desiccated coconut, for sprinkling
Preparation
Take about 200 ml of coconut milk and whisk it well with the sifted cornflour (corn starch), plain flour, sugar and desiccated coconut. Mix together the rest of the coconut milk and the double cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place the pan over medium high heat. Bring it to a boil, then add the cornflour mix and whisk constantly for about 2-3 minutes, until the mixture thickens up significantly. Remove it from the heat and immediately add the diced butter. Stir until the butter is completely melted.
Take a small baking pan (15x30 cm; 6x12"), grease it with butter and line it with plastic wrap. Sprinkle it with half of the coconut reserved for sprinkling. Pour in the cooked batter, level it as much as possible, then sprinkle with the rest of the reserved coconut. Let it cool down to room temperature, then place it in the fridge overnight. Once the mixture is cooled, take the pan out of the fridge, invert it to a silicone mat or baking paper and, using a very sharp knife, cut it into the desired number of bars (I cut mine into 30 small bars).
Place the bars in the freezer for at least 2 hours, to firm them up completely. Melt the chocolate, then dip the bars and place them on a silicone mat to set. Work quickly when dipping them in the chocolate. Sprinkle them with a bit of coconut if you wish. Once the coating is set, keep them in a cool place, as the filling will go really soft if kept in a warm place.
