coconut |

Coconut! You either love it or you hate it! Some of my friends who hate coconut say it’s because of the texture… My daughter used to hate coconut, never wanted to even try anything that had a slightest hint of it, until one day she worked up the courage to try these and fell in love with them.

These choco-coconut squares are a frequent guest at the table of many Bosnian families. If you like chocolate – coconut combination, I can guarantee you these will knock your socks off! 🙂 Now, in Bosnian language these have a specific name. It is weird and funny and quite unappetizing (the name I mean). That’s why I didn’t try translating it into English. Despite the weird name, this desserts is very popular, it is easily made and super delicious!

Choco-Coconut Squares (Čupavci)

[printable recipe]

For the batter:

5 eggs (divided)
125 g (4.4 oz) sugar
1 pack vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract)
150 g (5.3 oz) self –rising flour
50 g (1.7 oz) plain bread crumbs
160 ml (2/3 cup) milk

For the chocolate – coconut dip:

150 g (5.3 oz) semi-sweet or dark chocolate
150 g (5.3 oz) butter
100 g (3.5 oz)sugar
150 ml (about 2/3 cup) milk

150-200 g (5 – 7 oz) coconut (unsweetened, organic, finely shredded)
150 g (5.3 oz) heated raspberry jam (or your favorite jam)

Also needed:

28 X 22 cm (9 X 11 inch) rectangular cake pan,
parchment paper,
cooling rack,
small cooking pot and a stainless steel bowl (for the hot water bath)

Preparation:

1. For the batter divide the eggs. Beat the egg whites with a smidgen of salt until firm, set aside. Beat the egg yolks with sugar and vanilla until pale yellow and all the sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes).

2. Add milk and mix slowly for another minute. Now start adding flour combined with bread crumbs mixing at a low speed. At the end fold in the egg whites by hand until just combined.

3. Pour the batter into the cake pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 195 C (385 F) until the top starts getting golden yellow color. Remove from the oven and from the pan and place it on a cooling rack.

4. When the cake has cooled down completely, cut it horizontally into two halves. Lightly heat the jam and spread over the first half, lay the second half on the top. Now cut the whole cake into squares. If you make three cuts to the longer- and 5 to the shorter side you will get 24 squares.

5. Heat the water in a small cooking pot. Melt the chocolate and butter over hot water bath. Add sugar (if desired), mix it smooth and add milk at the end.

6. Dip each cake square into chocolate. Make sure every side is well coated and then dip in coconut. Let them rest for about an hour. They are best served at the room temperature!

ENJOY!

I must admit – I am a chocoholic. I am especially crazy about good Swiss chocolate such as Lindt, Cailler or Toblerone! Baking with these is really fun and the taste is always superb! Since living in the United States I became very fond of Girardelli chocolate and I use it often when baking. For this pie I used 60% cocoa Girardelli chocolate, which is quite dark and rich and the light coconut crust goes perfectly with it.

For the crust: Printable recipe

6 tbsp (85 g) butter (room temperature)
1 tbsp rum
6 cups (480 g) flaked sweetened coconut

For the pie filling:

15 oz (450 g) dark chocolate (60% cocoa)
1 ¾ cups (410 ml) heavy cream

For the decoration:

1.5 oz (42 g) white chocolate
2 tbsp heavy cream

For the crust beat the butter and rum until fluffy. Add 2 cups of shredded coconut and work it into butter. Add remaining 4 cups and knead it good with your hands.
Prepare a 9 inch pie dish and line it with parchment paper.
First press coconut mixture onto the bottom of the dish and then onto sides. Cover the top edge with a ring made from aluminum foil to prevent burning.
Bake about 15 minutes at 365 F or until bottom start to brown very lightly. Cool completely.
For the filling, break the chocolate into small pieces and place it into a bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a quick boil and pour it over the chocolate. Do the same with the white chocolate in a separate bowl.
Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes, then mix well and pour it into crust. Before decorating let the pie set for at least 45 minutes.
If the white chocolate mixture has hardened, melt is shortly and place it into a small plastic zip-loc bag. Cut off a tiny tip and make a swirl on the pie starting from the center.
Take a toothpick and make a line with it starting at the center towards the edge, make another line now starting from the edge to the center. Alternate like this until you come to the first line you made.

Let the pie set in the fridge best over night. Remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving!

BON APPETIT! 😉