Chocolate Coconut Charlotte Food

CHOCOLATE CHARLOTTE

Steps:

• Filling: Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons milk; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and granulated sugar.
• Bring 1/4 cup cream and remaining 1/4 cup milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add one-third of cream mixture to yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Add remaining cream mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly; return to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until custard coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin mixture. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into bowl with chocolate; let stand until softened, 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent skin from forming; let cool completely.
• Whisk remaining 3/4 cup cream to soft peaks and gently fold into custard. Refrigerate until ready to assemble, up to 1 day.
• Ladyfingers and Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a pencil and ruler, make a template that will be the guide for piping ladyfingers and cake layers: On a piece of parchment, draw two sets of parallel lines spaced 3 1/2 inches apart. On a second piece of parchment, trace three 5-inch circles. Place each piece of parchment, pencil-side down, on an unrimmed baking sheet. Sift together flour and 1/4 cup cocoa into a medium bowl.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together egg whites, salt, and vanilla on medium speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and gradually add 1/2 cup granulated sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 3 to 5 minutes. In a separate bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks with remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar until thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Gently fold egg-yolk mixture into egg-white mixture, then fold in flour mixture in three additions. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip.
• Pipe ladyfingers crosswise onto prepared templates, spacing 1/4 inch apart (you'll need about 16), then pipe cake rounds, starting in center of each circle and spiraling outward until you reach edge of template. Whisk together remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa and confectioners' sugar; sift over cake rounds. Bake ladyfingers and cake rounds until firm and springy, about 14 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool completely.
• Assembly: Place a 6-by-3-inch cake ring on a parchment-lined baking sheet; line ring with a 20-by-3-inch parchment strip to form a collar. Bring rum and granulated sugar just to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Place ladyfingers standing upright inside of ring, with domed sides facing out (use just enough to fit snugly). Place one cake layer at bottom of ring. Brush ladyfingers and cake with rum syrup. Pour half of chocolate filling into cake ring and top with a second cake layer. Brush cake with syrup and top with remaining chocolate filling. Top with final cake layer and brush with syrup. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Just before serving, whisk cream and confectioners' sugar to soft peaks. Carefully remove charlotte from bottom piece of parchment and transfer, still in cake ring, to serving platter. Remove ring and gently peel off parchment strip. Dollop whipped cream on top of cake and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with nonstick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• Sprinkle half of the shredded coconut on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until golden brown, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• Combine the instant espresso and water in a measuring cup; stir until dissolved. Add to a medium bowl, along with the cake mix, vegetable oil and eggs. Beat for 2 minutes with a handheld mixer on medium speed. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a baking rack and let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, butter, coconut milk, salt and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Beat with a handheld mixer on medium speed until light, fluffy and smooth, about 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining (untoasted) coconut with a rubber spatula.
• If the cakes have domed in the center, trim to level the tops. Place one cake layer, up-side down, on a platter or plate. Spoon one-third of the frosting on top and spread evenly, almost completely to the edge. Place the other layer, up-side down, on top, pressing gently to anchor. Using an offset spatula, evenly frost the entire cake; if the frosting gets too soft, place it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Gently press the toasted coconut around the outside of the cake and sprinkle it over the top.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE COCONUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
• Mix oats and coconut in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
• Stir sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and margarine together in a saucepan over medium heat until the mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over the oats and coconut and quickly mix to coat. Drop by tablespoon onto prepared baking sheet; let cookies cool and harden. Store in an airtight container.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT OATIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, oats and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and coconut., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/4-in. square cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets., Bake 9-11 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. , Freeze option: Transfer wrapped disks to a freezer container; freeze. To use, thaw dough in refrigerator until soft enough to roll. Bake as directed.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover 2 sheet trays with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
• Add the butter and sugars to a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture in increments, beating until well combined. Briefly beat in the coconut flakes, chocolate chips and pecans until mixed together. Using your hands, roll the dough into walnut-size balls and drop 8 on a sheet tray, leaving 2 1/2 inches of space between them. Flatten them slightly. Bake 13 minutes. Let cool on the sheet tray 5 minutes.

COCONUT & CHOCOLATE BARS

Steps:

• Line a 20cm square baking tin with baking parchment and heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Tip the sugar, golden syrup, egg white, coconut cream and vanilla into a mixing bowl and mix with an electric whisk until well combined. Add the coconut and dried fruit and mix with a spatula until the ingredients are all evenly coated in the egg white mixture. Tip into the baking tin, press down with the back of a spoon to compress and make an even layer, then bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown and firm to the touch. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, or in short bursts in the microwave. Cut the coconut bake into 12 or 16 bars and remove the baking parchment. Turn the bars upside down and carefully spoon a little of the melted chocolate onto the base of each one, spreading with a knife to cover. Leave to set (pop in the fridge to speed it up if you like), then wrap the bars individually in baking parchment. Will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

COCONUT CHOCOLATE BARS

Steps:

• In a medium size bowl, beat eggs and add sugar. Blend in melted butter and vanilla.
• Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Blend into mixture.
• Pour one-half of batter into another bowl. In one batter add cocoa and the one tablespoon of melted butter. In the second batter add coconut.
• Pour the chocolate batter into a greased 8 x 8 baking pan. Spread the coconut batter on top.
• Bake in a 325 degree oven for 25 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool.
• Topping: Melt chocolate chips in microwave for 1 minute. Add melted butter and mix. Spread onto cooled bars. Let cool completely and cut into bars. Cut small--they are rich. (I have placed pan in fridg for 30 minutes to cool quickly.).
• Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE-COCONUT CHARLOTTE

Steps:

• Make the coconut custard: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut on a baking sheet, and bake until light gold, about 3 minutes.
• Whisk together yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, and the cornstarch in a bowl. Bring milk, coconut milk, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add 1/3 of the milk mixture to yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Add remaining milk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Return to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter and vanilla. Fold in coconut, then transfer to a bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of custard, and refrigerate until chilled and firm, about 1 hour (or overnight).
• Make the chocolate custard: Sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons milk in a small bowl, and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk together yolks and sugar in a medium bowl.
• Bring 1/4 cup cream and remaining 1/4 cup milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/3 of the cream mixture to yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Add remaining cream mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan. Place over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, until custard coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in softened gelatin.
• Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Strain cream mixture over chocolate, and let stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth, and let cool. Whisk remaining 3/4 cup cream until medium-stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the cream into chocolate mixture, then fold in the rest.
• Make the rum syrup: Bring sugar and rum to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Let cool.
• To assemble the charlotte: Place a 6-by-3-inch cake ring, on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Coat ring with cooking spray. Arrange ladyfingers upright inside ring, curved side touching ring. (Use just enough to fit snugly.) Fit 1 cake round in bottom of cake ring. Brush ladyfingers and cake with syrup. Spread 3/4 cup chocolate custard in ring, then top with 1 cup coconut custard. Repeat with cake, syrup, and custards, leaving 3/4 inch from top of ladyfingers.
• Cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight). Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, then gently remove cake ring. Top charlotte with whipped cream, and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Tie with bow, if desired, before presenting at the table. Slice, and serve immediately.