Coconut Ice




Coconut Ice




This is a popular confection in Britain, and has certainly been around since long before my father was young.   As such, its recipe appears in a cookbook that my mother used a lot when I was a kid; but she never made candy for us. Cakes, pies, and lots of different kinds of squares; but candy was something that we bought for ourselves with our pocket money.   However, having tried coconut ice on holiday, I was pleased to discover that we had a recipe for it.   I make it now and then for Christmas; but it's not specifically a seasonal recipe.
        There are two traditional types of coconut ice:   a light brown one, with a caramelly flavour; and this pink and white version.   Mind you, sweet shops nowadays—when you find a sweet shop nowadays—have coconut ice in a much wider variety of flavours.



Ingredients


2 cups sugar (white granulated)
½ cup milk
1 tbsp butter
1½ cups coconut (shredded)
a few drops of red food colouring





Directions


Initial Preparation
Line a small square baking tin with waxed paper.   If you wish, you can butter the paper lightly.

Boiling the Candy
Put half of the sugar, milk, and butter in a saucepan.   Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan.   Bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring them with a spurtle or wooden spoon until they dissolve.   Stop stirring when the mixture comes to the boil.   After that just let it boil (keeping a close eye on it) until it gets to the soft ball stage.

Adding the Coconut
Remove the saucepan from the heat.   Add half of the coconut, and stir it in with a spurtle or wooden spoon.   Then pour the mixture into the waxed-paper-lined tin, and spread it evenly over the bottom.

The Second Layer
Wash the saucepan, and repeat the process with the other half of the ingredients.   However, this time, when you take the candy mixture off the stove, add a few drops of red food colouring as well as the rest of the coconut.   You want to tint this batch to a medium light pink shade.
        Pour the pink mixture on top of the white layer in the tin.   Spread it evenly.   Let cool.   Then cut into squares or narrow rectangles.

Makes a couple of dozen pieces or so
depending on how it is cut.





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All original material on this webpage copyright © Greer Watson 2006.