Coconut-filled Peppermint Bounty Bites (recipe below)
So by now you all know I love coconuts. In
my last post I gave you lots of information about why I think coconut oil in
particular is super-healthy. The most logical question now is, how do you
incorporate coconut into your diet? The answer is, easily. I love the fact
that I can get coconut into my diet in so many different ways. The simplest way to use coconut oil (also known as coconut
butter) is to use it instead of any other oils you
currently use, and even as a replacement for butter or margarine in baking.
I use coconut oil in all my cooking, from stir-fries to muffins.
At first I couldn't get my head around using it with foods that I didn't
associate with a coconut flavour. I was fine with curries and many Asian style
dishes, but thought the idea of something like Italian food cooked in coconut
oil was just plain weird. Now that I'm so used to it I cook everything in
coconut oil, even eggs and tomato based dishes. Partly it's because I'm used to
the taste, but it helps that I use a good quality, fairly mild tasting, oil
(Loving Earth brand to be specific).
One of the best things about coconut oil is that it can be
heated to fairly high temperatures without becoming oxidized like most other
oils. In contrast, most unsaturated oils are best eaten unheated. Many of you
are probably wondering how to retain the lovely taste of olive oil in foods
like pasta. Surely coconut oil wouldn’t live up to your culinary expectations
in this situation? My suggestion would be to try cooking the sauce ingredients
with coconut oil (or without any oil if you prefer), and then drizzle some
olive oil over the top just before serving. I’m salivating at the thought.
As much as I love coconut oil, it’s only the beginning of where
the mighty coconut can take you in the kitchen. I also incorporate coconut milk
and coconut cream into my diet on a regular basis. Just to clarify, coconut
milk and cream are made from the meat (white part) of the coconut. Coconut
water on the other hand is the liquid found inside the centre of the coconut,
and is often sold as a drink. I use the milk and cream in place of regular milk
in pretty much all my cooking. Be it pancakes, porridge, biscuits, cakes,
muffins, chocolate or curries, coconut milk and cream work beautifully. From a
cost perspective I suggest buying coconut cream and watering it down to make
coconut milk, as that's all coconut milk really is anyway.
There are a couple of considerations to take into account when
buying coconut cream or coconut milk. Firstly, most products have an emulsifier
in them, which basically means that the liquid and the thicker part are
combined so that it has a smooth consistency. This is convenient if its winter (when
the oil hardens) and you want to be able to pour it easily. For the purists it’s
less ‘natural’, but I’ll leave that judgment up to you. It is also useful to
note that cans usually contain BPA (you know, the chemical nasty that we’ve all
become aware of in many plastic containers and bottles). So ideally choose a
can that is labeled BPA-free, although this can be hard to come by.
Unlike the ease with which coconut milk can replace cows milk, coconut
flour cannot be used as a 1:1substitute with normal flour. It is much heavier
and lacks gluten, which affects it's consistency when cooked. Gluten-free
baking is an art and usually works best when a variety of flours are used.
There are some exceptions, but they take a lot of trial and error to discover,
so I strongly recommend following recipes at first until you get the hang of
it. When it’s done well, coconut flour creations can be delicious, and much
healthier than the usual refined wheat products most people eat regularly, so
it’s worth a bit of experimentation.
Now what about coconut sugar and coconut nectar/syrup? I'm
afraid my rave reviews of coconut products don't quite reach this far. Coconut
sugar, also known as coconut palm sugar (which is not the same as regular palm
sugar), comes from the sap of the coconut palm flowers, and can be used in
place of regular sugar. The syrup is really just a liquid version of coconut
sugar and can be used in the same way you would use honey or maple syrup. In
terms of its health benefits, it is far richer in vitamins and minerals than
many other sweeteners. But that's where the benefits end, I’m sorry to say.
Although it has been claimed that coconut sugar has a low GI, this is a hotly
debated issue. The biggest problem though is it's fructose content (this
discussion is another whole blog post, but suffice to say that too much
fructose is really not good for you). Coconut sugar is made up of predominantly
sucrose, like normal sugar, which is an equal combination of fructose and
glucose. So although it's not as high in fructose as some other sweeteners,
it's still in the 'enjoy sparingly' category.
Last but not least is desiccated coconut, the grated and dried
coconut flesh that we all know and love from Bounty bars. It is also a fabulous
ingredient in many recipes, but is particularly yummy in sweet treats. In fact,
I’m going to share my Peppermint Bounty Bites recipe with you right now. Enjoy.
Peppermint Bounty Bites
Makes
15-20.
Suitable
for:
Gluten free, grain free, dairy free, soy
free, sugar free, low fructose, egg free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan and raw.
Conscious
Content for chocolate
¾ cup raw cacao
3 teaspoons vanilla essence*
6 tablespoons coconut oil
6 tablespoons coconut cream
1/3- 1/2 cup Norbu or xylitol (depending how sweet
you like it)
3 tablespoons of boiling water
8 drops stevia
Conscious
Content for coconut filling
1 ½ cups desiccated coconut
¾ cup coconut cream
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon peppermint essence*
1 teaspoon vanilla essence*
4 teaspoons Norbu or xylitol
*Vanilla/Peppermint Essence
Avoid brands that are ‘imitation’
essences. These usually contain
ingredients such as flavor, sugar, food acids and preservatives. ‘Natural’ essences should only contain water,
alcohol and the oil or extract.
The
Creative Phase:
11. Make the chocolate first.
22. Dissolve Norbu/xylitol in the boiling
water and then combine it with the other ingredients. The warmth from the boiling water will help
keep the chocolate liquid enough to spread as required.
33. Make sure the coconut oil is
liquid. In colder temperatures coconut oil will solidify and you will need to
melt it. To do this you can either melt it in a saucepan over a low heat or for
a truly raw recipe use the double boiler method. A simple way to do this is to
put the oil in a small bowl and place it on top of a larger bowl filled with
boiling water. Make sure the water is not touching the top bowl, either by
choosing the right sized bowls or by placing the top bowl on a metal ring, lid
etc. to raise it up slightly. Leave until melted.
44. Set out 15-20 7.3cm round
cupcake liners on a baking tray. With a
basting brush thinly and evenly cover the cupcake liners with chocolate mixture
(this can be messy). There should still
be about half the chocolate left over for use later in the recipe.
55. Freeze the cupcake liners for
10 min. It’s a good idea to make sure you have space in your freezer before
starting this recipe and that your freezer will fit your baking tray.
66. Whilst waiting for the
chocolate to harden combine the coconut filling ingredients. Again the coconut oil needs to be liquid.
77. Remove the chocolate-coated
cupcake liners from the freezer, making sure the chocolate is not too soft (in
which case put it back in the freezer for a few more minutes). Fill each
cupcake liner with the coconut mixture, gently pushing it down until it reaches
the sides and is filled to the top of the liner’s edge.
88. With the remaining chocolate
use the basting brush to cover the top of the filling, right to the edges so
that it is completely covered. If you got sidetracked and the chocolate has
started to harden you can re-melt it the same way you would the coconut oil.
99. Freeze them until the chocolate
is completely hard (you will know because the cupcake liner will easily peel off).
Store them in the freezer until you are ready to serve. At this point remove them from the freezer,
gently peel off the cupcake liner and leave them to sit until they are room
temperature (they are fine to eat straight away if you like them cold and firm). If you take them out of the freezer too early
they will still be delicious but also very messy and you wont be able to peel
off the liner easily.
May you be full of beans and coconut,
coconut, coconut...
Carla J
No comments:
Post a Comment