This recipe is an adapted version of Paradise Bars (think healthy Bounty Bar) that appeared in the first Hemsley & Hemsley cook book. It must be one of the most copied recipes on the planet right now. The combination of dessicated coconut, coconut cream, coconut oil and honey when set creates a perfect texture and flavour for so many ingredients. Here golden berries add a wonderful acidic fruity kick – which just takes the whole taste experience up a notch. In addition they add a stack of vitamins too.My family, absolutely love these so I always make a large batch plus they are nutrient packed too. What could be better?
Ingredients
2 x 200g bars of creamed coconut
10 tbsp melted coconut oil
4 tablespoons Manuka or other good honey (use more if you have a sweet tooth)
A couple of pinches of Maldon sea salt
300g desiccated coconut
100g golden berries, roughly chopped
400g (85% cocoa solids) dark chocolate, unwrap and break into small chunks
1x 24cm square tin lined with silicone paper
Method
Take the creamed coconut out of the cardboard packs and place them still in their plastic wrap in a bowl of really hot water. This will soften the coconut so it can mix easily with the other ingredients.
Remove the creamed coconut from the plastic wrapper and place in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the melted coconut oil, honey and salt. Add the desiccated coconut and golden berries and combine until evenly mixed to a dough like consistency (I use a stand mixer but you can do this by hand). Add a little water or coconut milk if the mixture seems a little too thick but not too much! . Don’t worry about it setting, the coconut oil and cream will reset when you chill the mixture.Place the dough into the lined tin. Press the mix down firmly and chill for around 30 minutes.
While the base in chilling, melt the chocolate in a glass or metal bowl over a pan of warm water. Don’t allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl and keep it at just under boiling point. You may have to remove from the heat a couple of times. When the chocolate has melted remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Take the coconut base from the fridge and lay it on a chopping board. Cut it into small bars (this is rich so I usually cut into 24). Dunk each bar into the chocolate to coat and tap on the side of the bowl to removed excess chocolate. Place the bars on a tray or rack on silicone paper. I decorated these with some chocolate-coated golden berries and some plain ones.
Allow the chocolate to completely set before handling. Store in an airtight tin or jar. I wrap mine individually in clear self-seal bags as they are a great snack to keep in your bag when you are out and about.
Download a printable version of the recipe golden berry & coconut bars.
I met Terra-Fertil who sell these berries in the UK on twitter and they kindly sent me some samples to try. Better known as physalis they decorated a lot of dessert plates in the 1990’s. The fruits themselves although they look dramatic taste better dried as it intensifies the flavour. Terra-fertil sell these berries plain or coated with raw chocolate and raw cacao powder; both delicious.
in 2013 he can’t possibly have foreseen its success. With a commercial background he understood that branding and product were of equal importance and worked hard from the outset on both. For him his journey started out by searching for a great distiller, a path that took him to Herriot Watt University in Edinburgh. There they run the only MSc in Brewing and Distilling in the world, as you might expect from the home of Whiskey. The stars were clearly in his favour, as whilst he was there he was introduced to Cory Mason a graduate of the course who was undertaking some research. From their first meeting Cory and Ian decided to work together and enlisted a current student Tom Hutchings who for his dissertation then worked on gin botanicals (the flavour enhancers) helping to put together a blueprint for what is now an award winning gin. Most London dry gins (which Silent Pool is have 3-4 botanicals but this one has over 20) Remarkably this gin has achieved the sales in months that most new brands take years to reach.
the UK in parts and built on site. Cory says it’s not the Rolls Royce of distillers but the end results better as the process can be more flexible. Without getting too academic here Silent Pool gin combines infusion and vapour techniques for building its unique taste. Many gins use either technique but rarely both. The distiller is powered by a reclaimed and renovated 1970’s Barford Invicta Major wood burning stove which sits in the wood shed next to the distillery. Fuel (wood) comes from a sustainable source on the estate. Cory and Toms first job in the morning is to chop wood and fire up the stove. The wood, Cory says affects the temperature rise in the distiller and because it varies each batch of gin is slightly different. This he says is a hand made product in every way; there are no computers or digital timers just skill. Cory and Tom love their job they feel it gives them a chance to perform magic with a perfect mix of science, art and craft.
watercress grower and love bloomed over their love of local food. Neil decided that watercress was a lesser love so he married Michaela and her cheese-making prowess and moved to Surrey. Now they work together blissfully making batches of their delicious cheese. Norbury blue is a soft blue cheese with a big attitude. Made with unpasteurised milk from Michaela’s father’s closed herd of Friesian cattle this is artisan food production as it should be. I went to see them in production but sadly had to share the cheese shed with a film crew who were making an educational movie so Neil showed me the ropes while Michaela was transplanted onto the big screen.
