This easy-to-follow tutorial will show you exactly how to make coconut cream truffles. They make perfect little Easter bunny tails and are delicious all year long.
Sometimes you have a love affair with food that leaves you daydreaming for months.
That is exactly what happened to me with these coconut cream truffles. They are creamy, smooth, buttery, sweet… You take a bite and sort of melt into a pile of Jello. My friend made these during the Christmas baking season. Even with the hoards of treats available, I was still thinking about these truffles months later. Whenever I asked for the recipe I was met with a Mr. Miyagi-like look, this recipe was not to be handed out lightly. I would need the training of my candy-making Sensei before it was time. It’s not that this recipe is complicated, it’s not. It’s just that you have to be precise.
These coconut cream truffles are made with an old-fashioned candy making process not so common anymore.
These are not a mash-up of grocery store frosting and processed cookies. No, no, my little karate kid. These coconut cream truffles will replace the sugar plums of your dreams and they take a wee bit of training.
The recipe comes from a little book made with a type-writer and copy machine. Charlotta is the baby in the photograph and this book is a history of her lifetime of candy-making. How to make coconut cream truffles:
The ingredients are super simple: cream, milk, sugar, butter, vanilla and coconut.
There are three main tools you will need for the truffles.
First, a candy thermometer. It is very important to test the temperature reading of your thermometer. Thermometers are all different and so is your altitude. There can be a 10 degree difference based on where you live just in North America alone. The easiest thing to do it to put your thermometer in a pan of cold water and bring it to a boil. Then note the temperature on the thermometer. Recipes are based on water boiling at 212 degrees. Subtract your boiling number from 212 degrees. For example, my water is boiling at 204 degrees, 8 degrees lower than 212. So when I make the truffles, I’ll subtract 8 degrees from the temperature in the recipe and I’ll have my perfect mark. The second tool is a candy scraper, wall scraper or anything with a good straight edge. (I used the edge of a small cutting board, a spatula and butter knife with my niece once and it worked just fine.) The third thing you need is a solid surface like a granite or quartz counter top or slab. If you don’t have one then find a friend that does. It’s a fun project to make with a buddy.
Using a large pot combine the cream, sugar, milk and butter and bring to a boil. Boil until the thermometer reads 236 to 238 degrees (or the adjusted temp based on your altitude). If you accidentally go over the temperature you need, just add a little water and bring it back to where you need it. Never stir above the surface of the mixture. Just keep your spoon circling around the bottom and you’ll be just fine.
Once it reaches the perfect temperature, put your hands up and walk away. Just like on the competitive baking shows. You don’t want to mix in the sugar crystals that may have formed around the top of the pot. Let it cool in the pot for 8-10 minutes then pour onto a moistened slab. Do not scrape the pot. Leave it for the kids to eat.
Next you’ll begin to “cream” the mixture. Take your scraper and work the mixture around on the slab for a few minutes until it loses it’s gloss and thickens up. You kind of scrap up a section and fold it over, then pick up another section working in over and over. This process goes pretty quick.
Once you see it thicken up add the coconut, vanilla and a little sea salt. Then work it all together. You may need to knead it together with your hands a bit as it crumbles up. Put it in a plastic bag and leave it on your counter to “ripen”. Those are Charlotta’s words. I have no idea what it’s really doing in that bag but it works. I suppose it helps the mixture soften and come together a bit more.
Let your kids lick the counter or do it yourself. Seriously, you’ll die when you taste the goodness.
After ripening for six hours or so the mixture will be ready. Roll out a ball, roll in the coconut and set aside to dry. These make a perfect little Easter treat because they look just like little Easter bunny tails. Share a few with your friends and they’ll be begging for more!
How to make coconut cream truffles:
Ingredients
- 6 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 cups coconut, divided
- dash of salt
Instructions
- **Please read the full tutorial in the above post before beginning.**
- Finely chop or blend the coconut. Set aside.
- In a large pot, cook first four ingredients over medium high heat to 236 to 238 degrees F stirring constantly, never above surface of the mixture.
- Remove from heat and let cool in the pot for 8-10 minutes.
- Pour onto cool, damp slab without scraping the pot.
- Cream mixture using a straight edge until it loses its gloss and thickens up, about 5 minutes.
- Add vanilla, salt and 1 1/4 cups of the coconut. Work into the mixture using the straight edge or knead with your hands as it lumps up.
- Store in a plastic bag at room temperature for 6 hours.
- Form balls and roll in 3/4 cups of the coconut. Set aside to dry. Store in a covered container for up to a week.
Which Easter treats do you like to make each year?
Candy making is easier than you might think! Give these other recipes a try:
Last minute FUDGE..super EASY & super DELICIOUS!
The post How To Make Coconut Cream Truffles: Easter Bunny Tails! appeared first on How Does She.
by Sarah via Home And Garden
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