Coconut Caramel Tart Food

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL COCONUT TARTS

Steps:

• Place 24 frozen tart shells on baking sheets. Let tart shells come to room temperature while you are preparing filling.
• In a double boiler, add chocolate chips, marshmallows and ½ cup evaporated milk. Heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is smooth, about 10 minutes.
• At the same time, pour ½ cup evaporated milk, coconut milk and corn syrup into a small saucepan and place over lowest heat setting. Do not set any higher! Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a hand blender. Very slowly, beat in the barely-warm evaporated milk and coconut milk mixture. Slowly drizzle in chocolate mixture while beating on low speed. When mixed, stir in toasted sliced almonds and 1 cup shredded coconut.
• Fill each tart almost to the top with chocolate mixture. Put ½ a caramel on top of each filled tart. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, until shells are lightly browned. Immediately sprinkle each tart with 1 teaspoon coconut (optional).
• Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before handling. Serve warm if possible.

COCONUT CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• Place pastry onto a lightly greased 20cm pie plate.
• Trim and decorate edges.
• Bake in hot (200c) oven for 10 mins, cool slightly.
• Beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl.
• Stir in sour cream and coconut, and mix well.
• Pour into pastry case and bake 25-30 minutes.
• cool.
• Dust with icing sugar.
• Serve with any fruit you have on hand.

PEACH TART WITH COCONUT CREAM AND SLIGHTLY SALTED CARAMEL

Steps:

• For the peach tart: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Toss the peaches with the brown sugar and lemon juice and set aside.
• Place the flour and confectioners' sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn to low speed and add the butter a few pats at a time. Once all the butter has been added, beat until the flour, sugar and butter begin to form a dough and it holds its shape when pressed together with your fingers. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and gently knead and bring together to form a ball. Pat the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
• Spray eight 4-inch tart pans with nonstick cooking spray. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten into a disc. Press the dough into each tart shell, using your fingers to press the dough up the sides of the tart shell. Trim any excess dough that overhangs from the top. Dock the dough with a fork. Place the tart shells into the fridge to chill for 5 minutes.
• Line the inside of the tart shells with parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Transfer the shells into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and baking beans, then put back into the oven for another 5 minutes. Allow to cool before filling.
• For the pastry cream: Add the egg yolks, granulated sugar and cornstarch to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high until the yolks are pale yellow and peaks begin to form, a few minutes. Scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula and beat again to ensure the ingredients are fully incorporated.
• Set up an ice bath in a large bowl and set aside. Add the coconut milk, kosher salt and vanilla beans with the pods to a small saucepan. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and gradually, very little at a time, add the heated coconut milk into the whipped egg yolk mixture with the stand mixer turned down to low speed. It's important to add it very gradually to temper the eggs so they will not scramble. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan that the coconut milk was heated in and turn the heat to medium-low. Whisking constantly, cook until the pastry cream has thickened and reaches the consistency of pudding, about 5 minutes. Transfer the thickened pastry cream back into the stand mixer bowl and whisk on medium speed. Add the butter, one pat at a time. Beat for 1 to 2 minutes to cool it down. Spread the pastry cream onto a quarter sheet tray and cover with plastic wrap, pressing down onto the pastry cream itself to avoid a skin from forming on the top. Place into the fridge to chill for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Once the tart shells have cooled, place a tablespoon or so of pastry cream to cover the bottom. Then top with 1 1/2 tablespoons of macerated peach filling in each tart. Spoon some more pastry cream to cover the top of the tarts and spread with a spatula to flatten it down.
• For the caramel: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes. Then remove from the heat and add the vanilla and sea salt (be careful it's hot!!).
• To finish the tarts, lay a peach slice on top of each tart. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

COCONUT CARAMELS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut flakes in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast until light golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Brush an 8-inch baking dish generously with coconut oil or coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle about 3 to 4 tablespoons of toasted coconut in an even layer on the bottom of the pan, and set aside.
• In a medium heavy saucepan, combine the coconut cream, sugar, corn syrup and sea salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil, stirring frequently especially toward the end, until a candy thermometer reaches 250 degrees and caramel is a light golden brown and thickened, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the ginger and cardamom.
• Pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Once the caramel stops bubbling and the surface forms a thin skin, about 3 minutes, sprinkle another 4 tablespoons toasted coconut across the surface. Allow to cool at room temperature and set completely, about 2 hours.
• Run a spatula around the sides of the baking dish, loosen and lift the caramel, and move onto a board or clean surface.
• Slice the caramel into 8 (1-inch-wide) strips, then across into 1/2-inch pieces, so you have about 72 caramels. Roll the sides of each piece in more toasted coconut. Wrap as individual sweets using 4- to 5-inch squares of parchment, wax paper, or cellophane, or use store-bought candy wrappers, twisting the ends to seal. Store at room temperature in a cool dry place. Caramels will keep stored at room temp for up to 7 days or frozen after wrapping for up to 1 month.

COCONUT TARTS

Steps:

• Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl of food processor. Add the butter and shortening, and pulse until crumbs the size of peas form. Slowly add 1 cup cold water until the dough just comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
• In the meantime, combine the coconut, sugar, mixed essence, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan, and simmer the mixture until the sugar melts and liquid thickens to the consistency of maple syrup, about 30 minutes. Cool.
• To make the tarts: Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Dust the chilled dough with flour and divide into 15 balls. Flatten the balls and then roll out to 1/8 inch thick, dusting with flour as necessary to prevent sticking.
• Place 1 tablespoon of filling on the center of a disk. Lightly brush the edges of the disk with water and fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon. Crimp the edges closed, using a fork. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
• Beat the egg yolk and milk together, and brush over the tarts. Prick each tart once or twice so that steam can escape. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tarts are golden brown. Cool and serve.

COCONUT TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place a shallow 23cm flan tin on a baking tray. Tip the spices, coconut and sugar into a pan with 150ml water and cook over a low heat for about 5 mins, stirring frequently to ensure the mixture doesn't catch. Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line the flan tin. Trim off the excess pastry, fill the pastry case with baking parchment and baking beans and cook for 15 mins. Remove the beans and cook for 5 mins more so the pastry on the base of the tin is just cooked, but not brown.
• Beat the egg and melted butter into the cooled coconut mixture, then spoon into the pastry case and smooth the top. Bake for 25 mins until the pastry is golden and the coconut pale golden. Serve with cream or real vanilla ice cream and some Cape gooseberries, then follow with cups of black Rooibos tea.