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Rosetta’s Cute Coconut Ice

Issue 2 of the Disney Cakes and Sweets magazine brought with it some childhood memories for me. I remember making coconut ice as a child. I remember it including boiled sugar, however, which this recipe doesn’t, but maybe I’m confusing it with fudge?

No cook coconut iceIf you take away the serious sugar overdose in this recipe, coconut ice is a brilliant treat to get kids involved in. I haven’t made it in years – not since I joined the Nestle Boycot – but my husband found some Farmlea condensed milk recently and it’s reopened a world of sweet pleasures that were off limits unless I wanted to make my own condensed milk!

Anyway, traditionally coconut ice is pink and white, but I can’t seem to find a reason why. We decided to make ours red (which failed and look more pink than it should) and green to be all Christmassy. In future I’d rather do red and white and green and white. I think it would look better. Anyway, whichever colours you choose, here’s the recipe for you.

No Bake Coconut Ice
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Disney Cakes And Sweets
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 16
The original recipe says to stir all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. If you’re not using a Thermomix, you’re going to have to get in there with both hands. The kids love it. It’s sticky and messy and tasty fun.
Ingredients
  • 397g can [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/Farmlea-Condensed-Milk-397G/dp/B00BHFEF3K/” target=”_blank”]condensed milk[/url]
  • 300g (11oz) icing sugar
  • 300g (11oz) desiccated coconut (we used organic)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • food colouring of choice
Instructions
  1. Line or oil your baking tray. I use [u][url href=”http://amzn.to/1iI0G6l” target=”_blank”]an awesome brownie pan[/url][/u] for most things, and for this too.
  2. Pour condensed milk into a large mixing bowl and sift in the icing sugar.
  3. Add the coconut and vanilla essence or extract and mix together until well combined.
  4. If you’re having a white layer, spoon half the mix into your baking tray and flatten out pressing down tightly. If you’re having two coloured layers, split them into two bowls and add the required colours to each bowl.
  5. Mix well and add to pan, flattening till all the first layer is covered, and it’s all flattened.
  6. Place pan in the fridge for six hours or overnight to set.
  7. Once set, turn out and cut the coconut ice into squares.
  8. If you use the brownie pan, cut it while still in the pan. This will make huge slices though, so use a knife to cut again.
For the Thermomix:
  1. Make your icing sugar first, if you’re making your own.
  2. Add all but the colouring and mix on speed 2 for 30 seconds.
  3. Split the mixture into two, put one layer in the pan, then add the food colouring to one.
  4. Layer the next into the pan and leave to set in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
  5. Cut the set coconut ice into squares and enjoy.

Issue 2 also has recipes for a Winnie the Pooh Cake, cream-tea scones, fudge, florentines, 101 Dalmatians cake pops and Winnie the Pooh and friends silicone molds

I’m all about the healthy. We experiment with raw food, drink water kefir, and cook from scratch. I even make my own butter. But to be great 80% of the time, we allow ourselves a break 20% of the time. For the next while, we’ll share recipes from the Disney Cakes and Sweets magazine series. They are not healthy. The name kind of gives it away. But that’s okay. Sometimes we adjust the recipes a little to fit in better with our style, and sometimes I use a Thermomix instead of following the directions. As part of a balanced diet, we hope you ‘ll join us. We’ll have fun! (If you prefer completely raw, healthy, but still delicious snacks, have a look at Bliss Balls For Beginners)

A Very Thermie Christmas This recipe features in A Very Thermie Christmas, where you can find it and 50 other recipes perfect for a Thermomix assisted Christmas. Read more about it here.

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Fruity Chocolate Chunks Recipe

Fruit Chocolate ChunksI’m not really sure why I feel like I should apologise for loving the Disney Cakes and Sweets series? Is it because it’s Disney? Or because it’s sugary cakes and sweets? Who knows, but what I do know is that I’m not even sorry. I’ve been slotting our new arrivals into the accompanied binder today, and I am excited, not only to bake and make with my four year old, the way we used to before her sister was born, but also to develop and grow my own baking – and more specifically decorating – skills.

The first recipe we made from Cakes and Sweets were Minnie’s fruity chocolate chunks. We pretty much changed everything in the recipe, but hear me out. It was so good, we made it again and again.

The original recipe calls for white chocolate (yuk! sorry, but no). It also called for freeze-dried raspberries which we didn’t have on hand, so we used mixed peel instead, and it called for pistachio nuts, which again, I didn’t have, so we used hazelnuts instead. I’m sure their version would be fine, but ours was awesome!

We’ll be putting some of these in jars with a ribbon or two for Christmas gifts. I reckon it beats a box of bought chocolates hands down. This is also a brilliant recipe for children to help with too.

Fruity Chocolate Chunks
Recipe Type: Disney Cakes and Sweets
Cuisine: Confectionary
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 300g
Originally from Disney Cakes and Sweets, this recipe has been adapted to our personal tastes.
Ingredients
  • 225g (8oz) good quality dark chocolate
  • 40g orange peel
  • 40g hazelnuts
Instructions
For the Thermomix:
  1. Lightly crush hazelnuts at speed 5/10 seconds
  2. Temper the chocolate to a perfect 37 degrees Celsius
  3. Sprinkle orange peel and hazelnut over a silicone pan. Pour the chocolate over it.
  4. Set aside for an hour to cool, then roughly crack into chunks. (Or if you have a chocolate bar mould you can use that instead.
Without a Thermomix
  1. Temper the chocolate in a double boiler, or in a glass bowl over boiling water.
  2. While it is melting, crush the hazelnuts lightly.
  3. Sprinkle orange peel over the hazelnuts and mixed them together in a silicone tray before pouring the perfectly tempered chocolate over it.
  4. Set aside to cool, then crack and enjoy.

Issue 1 also contains Giant Mickey Mouse cookies with a cutter, Honey cupcakes, marshmallow pillows, 101 Dalmations cake, passionfruit tarts, and part one of how to build a fairytale castle. 

I’m all about the healthy. We experiment with raw food, drink water kefir, and cook from scratch. I even make my own butter. But to be great 80% of the time, we allow ourselves a break 20% of the time. For the next while, we’ll share recipes from the Disney Cakes and Sweets magazine series. They are not  healthy. The name kind of gives it away. But that’s okay. Sometimes we adjust the recipes a little to fit in better with our style, and sometimes I use a Thermomix instead of following the directions.  As part of a balanced diet, we hope you ‘ll join us. We’ll have fun!
(If you prefer completely raw, healthy, but still delicious snacks, have a look at Bliss Balls For Beginners)

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Damson Jam / Damson Jelly Recipe

Damson Jam Recipe

Autumn bounty includes Damsons in the UK, and the trees are laden with them. People can’t get rid of them fast enough. The problem with damsons is that unlike, say, blackberries, you can’t eat them raw, so they often go unappreciated till they fall to the ground.

My daughter came home from a walk in the forest with her pockets bulging with damsons, so I decided to turn it into jam, something I’ve never done before.

Damson Jam / Damson Jelly Recipe
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 200ml
Use equal parts of fruit to jam sugar, boil and store. Easy peasy Damson Jam. You can of course buy your Damsons, but half the fun is in the foraging!
Ingredients
  • 200g Damsons
  • 250g (9oz) Sugar
  • 1 orange, washed
Instructions
  1. Wash damsons and drop them into your pot.
  2. Squeeze the juice of the orange out over it.
  3. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes till the fruit is soft. (20 mins/100C/speed 2).
  4. After 20 minutes, remove from the heat. It’s useful at this point to remove all the pips. If you keep the orange in at this point, you’ll have a slight marmalade undertone to the damson jam. I’m not a fan of marmalade, so I prefer to remove the orange before adding the jam sugar.
  5. Boil for another 20 minutes at 100C/212F.
  6. Remove from the heat and tip the pot slightly. If the jam looks like it is creating a wrinkle, remove from heat and pour into steriised jars to keep for later, or into a jam jar to start using straight away.
  7. If it doesn’t seem to be wrinkly yet, cook for a further five minutes before dispensing into jars. Remember that damsons have a lot of pectin in them and will set as it cools.

 

 

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Awesome Autumn Apple Chutney Recipe

Around this time of year, the apple trees are laden with juicy, lovely fruit, just waiting to be picked. A few years ago we lived in a house with a huge apple tree in the centre of the yard, and I learned to make apple-everything! I’ve missed this beautiful apple chutney since then, but where we live now the apple trees line a public walk way, free for anyone with a long enough arm to help themselves.
20130926-124232.jpg
I’ve made a few batches of this apple chutney this year – with apples from a friend’s garden, actually – and it gets rave reviews every time. I core the apples too, but don’t peel them. If you do, however, sprinkle the skins with cinnamon and pop them in the dehydrator over night or a low oven for two hours for a lovely apple crispy snack.

Great with cheese and crackers, or mixed in with mince or other cooked meats, this is my favourite home made apple chutney.

Awesome Autumn Apple Chutney
Recipe Type: Chutney, Condiment
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 500ml
Ingredients
  • 5 green apples, cored
  • 3 large tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 large onions
  • 5g fresh ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 80g raisins
  • 30g orange juice
  • 20g lemon juice
  • 225g soft brown sugar
  • 200g apple cider vinegar
Instructions
  1. Chop the ingredients finely. (Chop lightly in a food processor if you can)
  2. Add the liquids and sugar into a pot and stir till the sugar has dissolved.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients.
  4. Simmer on low heat for 2 hours.
  5. Pour into warm sterilised jars and keep for up to a year.
In the thermomix
  1. Add the apples, tomatoes and onions to the Thermomix and chop 10 seconds/speed 4
  2. Remove to a large container.
  3. Add the ginger and garlic to the Thermomix and chop, 5 seconds/speed 8
  4. Add the raisins, orange juice, lemon juice, sugar and cook for 3 minutes/speed 3/ 90C
  5. Add the apple mix back to the Thermomix with the apple cider vinegar
  6. Cook at Varoma temperature for 40 mins/REVERSE speed 2 without MC.
  7. If it’s still too runny, do the same for another 20 minutes. Just keep an eye on it.
  8. When it’s finished and looks like chutney, pour into sterilised jars.