Coconut Ice

When I was a child, my mum had a stash of cans of condensed milk. It was left over from when we lived on a remote island and she had to order food for 8 weeks at a time, to come in by barge. Somehow they just sat in the back of the cupboard for years, after we moved back to the mainland. When we finally opened a can, we discovered that it had turned to caramel all by itself, over the course of time. So if you have a spare decade, this is an easy way to make caramel!

In my opinion, condensed milk should be a food group all of its own - rich, creamy, sweet - and yet I can pass it off as dairy, and therefore good for us, right??

Coconut ice is a great recipe to make for your next church fete. Or just because it is yummy!

Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups icing sugar

2 1/2 cups dessicated coconut

1 can condensed milk

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Method:

Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl. I squish mine through a sieve, to get the lumps out. This is quite important, to get a smooth consistency. If you use the icing mixture (with cornstarch in it), instead of pure icing sugar, this step is a whole lot quicker!

Then, add the coconut to the sugar and stir together.

Tip in the condensed milk and egg white, mix well together. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. Yum.

Press half the mixture into a tray lined with baking paper. Then add pink food colouring to the other half, and press it in on top.

Refrigerate for 3 - 4 hours, until completely set. Slice into small pieces and enjoy!

This is a good recipe for kids, as it is just measuring, mixing and squishing into a tray. However, it does require some patience, waiting for it to set. I make it before nap time, and then take Naomi off to bed for a while, to pass the time.