Turron de Coco

I’ve had my eye on this recipe for years, and now that I’ve finally made it I’m a little mad at myself for waiting so long. When I was young enough to enjoy eating candy bars my absolute favourite was the bounty bar, and the Turron do Coco is like the adult version of that treat.

This is a no bake bar recipe that comes together very quickly, though the bars will need to chill in the fridge between steps. You can use medium shredded coconut as I did, but using finely shredded coconut will help the bars to cut more cleanly and have smoother, less shaggy sides. My chocolate got a bit too cold so I used a warm knife to cut it, but if presentation is important and you want to avoid streaks of chocolate on the side cut the bars when they are cool, but not cold.

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut (medium or fine)

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

3.5 oz 70% cocoa chocolate

1 tablespoon butter

Steps:

Butter an 8×8 inch baking pan, line with parchment and allow parchment to hand over two sides
In a medium saucepan, combine coconut, sweetened condensed milk, coconut milk, butter and orange zest
Stir mixture over medium heat until it begins to pull away from the sides and/or clump together, this will take 5-10 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and stir in vanilla
pour filling into pan and smooth with an offset spatula, chill in fridge for two hours
One the coconut mixture is chilled melt chocolate and butter and pour over coconut filling, smooth chocolate with an offset spatula and place pan in freezer until chocolate is set, about ten minutes
Gently lift the bars out of the pan with the parchment paper and place on a cutting board
Cut the square in half and gently turn one side over, place the other side on top so that the coconut mixture presses together and there is a layer of chocolate on the top and bottom of the bar
Trim the edges to create an even rectangle and remove any raged edges
Cut the bars into even squares desired shape

Note: If you prefer a thinner bar, instead of cutting the square in half, flip it over and melt more chocolate and butter to coat the bottom and return to freezer to set for about ten minutes