Summer is still a month away, but it’s the most anticipated season in my book and nothing brings it on more than a little coconut! I think it all started with our yearly beach vacations as a kid, I can still smell Granny basking in the sun covered in coconut oil. Boy am I so glad we are more conscious of uv skin damage than we were 25 years ago! Now, who doesn’t like a good piña colada on a sun soaked beach?! I’m there in a heartbeat but if you can’t quite make it yet try some of our chocolate truffles bathed in fresh toasted coconut!
Or, if your ambitious like me, bust open some coconuts for your self and open up a world of possibilities! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and starting with a hammer and a philips screw driver puncture the three holes in the dimples found on one end of the coconut. Drain the coconut water into a glass and smell and taste it to be sure the coconut is still good. On a side note, I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted anything worse than rancid coconut water! Taste like bile… so beware and if it smells funny, it’s probably bad! Once the oven is ready, place the coconut on a cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 min. Then put the coconut into a plastic bag and cover with a towel, place on a hard surface and break up with the hammer. The meat should easily break away from the shell. The meat is delicious as is but still has a thin skin you can opt to peel. I did and then shaved it using a fine cheese grader. After grading, I toasted the shavings on a baking sheet using the broil setting on the oven, watching it closely and turning the shavings often. These shaving can be used to bring on the sunshine to many meals and snacks! Not just for chocolates but to coat chicken or fish, cover cake or top cupcakes.
These Coconut Bon Bons are available via Lady Chocolatier, for the next two weeks only! So if you love coconut or are itching for some Summer inspiration look no further! Then in the month of June we will be featuring Smores’ covered in Toasted Coconut and in July Piña Colada Truffles. Get em’ while it’s hot!