Chocolate Coconut Bars
Introduction
Serves: Makes 20 or more bars
Ingredients
175g (6 oz) butter, cubed and softened
½ cup caster (superfine granulated) sugar
1 cup standard flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cocoa powder,
1 cup desiccated coconut
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Icing
100g (3½ oz) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
1 Tbsp sifted cocoa powder
1 Tbsp boiling water
Desiccated coconut for sprinkling over icing
Method
1 Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Whip butter with an electric beater until smooth and creamy then gradually beat in sugar and continue beating until lighter in colour (3-5 minutes).
2 Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa powder onto a piece of paper, then sift the dry ingredients over the creamed butter. Blend in with a rubber scraper. Add the coconut, milk, and vanilla extract.
3 Line a small tin with baking (parchment) paper (approximately 27cm / 10” x 18cm / 7”). Spread evenly with a knife. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until lightly browned on top and around the edges.
4 To make the icing, sieve icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl and add about 1 tablespoon of boiling water to create a just-pourable icing. Pour icing over the top of the cake, then quickly spread with a knife. Sprinkle with coconut then leave until almost cool (it’s best to cut it while it is still faintly warm). Cut into bars with a sharp knife. Once cold, transfer to a shallow, airtight container. The bars will keep for several days.
Recipe Notes
The tin size is flexible. The mixture can be squeezed into the recommended size tin above, which will make fewer, slightly fatter bars, or it can be made in a slightly bigger tin, which will make more slimmer bars.
If you make the icing too thin, sieve in more icing sugar.
