In this week’s post, local Nelson chef and guest Blogger, Grant Dicker has some tips for parents looking for school holiday activities, get the kids busy in the kitchen! Check out his recipe for Raspberry Coconut Ice. Take it away, Grant…
The Nelson winter school holidays are upon us. If you are like me, you will be looking for ways to entertain the small ones. Cooking is a great school holiday activity. It keeps the children entertained, and they get to have a treat at the end. One of the flavours from my childhood that I haven’t had in years is Coconut ice. There is no baking involved, and it sets relatively quickly.
With the availability of ‘coconut thread’ (extra course desiccated coconut) these days. The texture can be a little more refined when compared to that of traditional desiccated coconut.
I don’t know if you have seen the ‘Fresh As’ freeze-dried range in Fresh Choice Nelson, but they have some clever products. The freeze-dried fruits are an amazing garnish for cakes and desserts, or for improving boring breakfast cereals. Being freeze-dried, they retain all the acid and sweetness of the original product. Because they are completely dehydrated, there’s none of the added sweetness that is common with dried fruits.
For this recipe, I have removed the food colouring and raspberry essence and simply added some ground freeze-dried raspberries.
School Holiday Activity – No-Cook Raspberry Coconut Ice
Ingredients:
- 325g icing sugar sifted. May need extra
- 325g coconut threads
- 400g sweetened condensed milk
- One teaspoon natural vanilla essence
- Two dessert spoons of freeze-dried raspberries
- Oil for greasing the tray
Method:
Lightly grease a 20 cm baking tray. Then line it with good quality baking paper.
Put half of the icing sugar into a food processor and add the raspberries. Pulse until the raspberries are ground — place in a bowl with half of the coconut.
Put the other half of the sugar and coconut into a second bowl.
Add half of the condensed milk and half of the vanilla essence to each bowl.
Stir well until entirely combined. Use more icing sugar if the mixture appears too wet.
Spread the pink mix into the bottom of the baking sheet, ensuring it’s smooth on top. Pop into the fridge for 5 minutes if needed. Next, add the mixture from the second bowl on top, spreading it out smoothly and taking care not to combine the layers.
Refrigerate for three hours, or until set, then finally cut into pieces and enjoy.
Head to Fresh Choice Nelson for all your ingredients for your cooking school holiday activities!
