Coconut Dessert Recipe
This dessert looks like a real coconut but in fact it has a chocolate husk filled with coconut cream mousse and fresh fruit. The servings are rather large if you make them the size of a real coconut, so you’d want to share them between two or make them smaller for individual serves.
To make a chocolate coconut you will need:
Dragons beard candy
balloons (use water balloons if you are making individual desserts)
900g (31.75 ounces) dark chocolate tempered You won’t use all of this but you need this much in the bowl to be able to dip the balloon. Tip left over chocolate onto foil and wrap it for later use.
600g (21.16 ounces) milk chocolate tempered
Dip the bottom half of a balloon into some tempered dark chocolate. Then place onto non-stick baking paper to set.
Repeat for the number of coconuts you want to make, these are large so you could share between two, you could make smaller ones if you want individual desserts.
Pull one of the dragons beard candy disks to make “candy hair”, the recipe makes 8 so you’ll have some left over for another day.
Dip the dark chocolate balloon into some milk chocolate and rest it upside down on a bowl, so the chocolate side is facing up.
Drape the dragons beard down over the top and press into the milk chocolate.
Once you’ve got a good covering add more milk chocolate over the top and spread it over so you can still see the stands underneath. If I was making this again, I would thin the milk chocolate down with cocoa butter so that you have a thinner coating of milk chocolate and can see more of the strands.
Once the milk chocolate is set just let the balloons down.
You can use scissors to neaten up the top edge or leave it rough.
Coconut Mousse
400mL (13.53 fluid ounces) coconut cream
110g (3.88 ounces) sugar
10 gelatine sheets
a bowl water
960mL (32.46 fluid ounces) cream
vanilla or rum or liquor
Put the gelatine sheets into the water to soak.
Add the sugar and vanilla in with the coconut cream. Heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Squeeze the water out of the gelatine sheets and add them into the pan stirring until it is dissolved.
Leave that to cool to room temperature.
Whip the cream until you get stiff peaks then fold through the cooled coconut mixture.
Fill each chocolate coconut husk with mousse an place in the fridge to set.
Once set cut scoop out some of the mixture from the middle to make it look like a coconut.
Warm your spoon and rub it along the inside the smooth it.
Fill the centre with fresh tropical fruits.
My Cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country: http://bit.ly/ARcookbook All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.
I’m putting this here because it applies to a lot of your recipes, but this was one I’d particularly like to try where the issue came up. My husband bought me your cookbook for my birthday and I can’t wait to try some of the gorgeous-looking recipes in it. However, there is one problem. I’m vegetarian and a lot of the recipes have gelatine in them. Do you have any advice on suitable veggie alternatives to gelatine and which ones would be most likely to work in different dishes?
Hi Ann! I was wondering what strength of gelatine sheets you use. Gold strength or silver strength?
I was wondering this too. Is it also possible to replace the gelatin sheets with powdered gelatin? What would be the ratio for this? Thank you!
What a fun, delicious-looking dessert! Is coconut cream the same as coconut milk, which can be purchased in cans in US grocery stores? If it is different from coconut milk, do you know if regular or speciality grocery stores carry it?
Coconut cream is slightly different than coconut milk. Coconut cream is just thicker, and often times you can still find it at American grocery stores. However, if you can’t find it: Here’s a little hack. If you buy a can of coconut milk, open it up and scrape off the thick white stuff on top, leaving the clearest liquid at the bottom, the white stuff at the top is coconut cream. So instead of just buying a can of coconut cream, you can use the top Thick layer of Separated coconut milk.
Wow this recipe is amazing – I didn’t have dragon’s beard candy but just painted on some coconut texture on the outside but everything worked perfectly and looked great
Awesome, glad to hear Lily ?
Thanks for this wonderful recipe. As a Nutritionist I appreciate this recipe with all healthy ingredients. I will must try to home, I hope you will upload more recipes like this.
Thanks Mira.
What is Dragons beard Candy? I Live in the states and I have never seen it? Can it be shipped here? By the way I have to tell you I am 60+ and you lady are my hero!! Your recipes have helped me get all of my Granddaughters into the Kitchen and interested in cooking (something only one of their mothers is capable of otherwise my sons do all the cooking) And you have HUGE fans in all of them. We try every recipe you put out even if we have to wait weeks to get stuff shipped in. One of them gave all of her teachers Roses in Raindrops for Valentines day even her Art Teacher was so impressed he had her teach a class in how to do it!! Of Course she gave you credit she even had them watch your video first, Another made thousands of Macarons of every flavor and color she could think of to raise money for a no kill Animal Shelter with the help of her cousins. I provide the materials, the kitchen, help when they need it and I watch them blossom under your tutelage (I also clean up the mess) There are no words to tell you how grateful I am that you are willing to share your Knowledge with others and how much good that knowledge is doing for others in need. I listen to the 3 girls plot and plan for future charities they would like to help, even a couple pf their brothers are interested in learning now but the girls arn’t quite ready to give them a chance (They tend to start things and then walk away) I may let them have a weekend without their sisters to see how it goes first, THANK YOU SO MUCH
Wow Sandra, that is such lovely feedback and I so commiserate with you about the clean up. It definitely comes with the territory. You can probably get dragon’s beard candy in the US but if you are feeling brave you could make your own. Here is the recipe: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/dragons-beard-pashmak-recipe-cotton-candy/. A quick search on line suggests that you can pick it up at some Asian Food Markets or buy it online via Amazon or ebay.
Oh, yes this is a great coconut, for sure. However the dragon beard has my full attention. Now that is something I will need in my future, one never knows where great things lie. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I read where you find the time to do all you you do! but where do you find the energy? WOW
That looks like a real coconut! They look so yum
Thanks Sugar Kitten. They do look Yum!
Ishar, thanks so much for the post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Hi, I really enjoyed this recipe, my question is if I can be able to do it the night before my reception, and if the mousse will stay in the fridge without problem, I would like some help for conservation
Hi Ishar, Yes they will keep in the fridge overnight, except just add the fruit prior to serving.
Thanks for your answer, let us see what i can do
Also wanted to know.. how many coconuts this recipe makes. As the measurements sound like a lot ?
Hi Seema, The recipe gives you plenty of chocolate for dipping etc. You could use less but it will be difficult to ‘dip’ as pictured and get a nice even coat. You will have left over chocolate and sugar discs for use later. You should get at least 3 extra large servings like those pictured which together will serve 6-9 people depending on how you want to share them.
If you have leftover Let the Chocolate set hard and store it in a air tight container and remelt it for other projects later. I use my leftovers when baking cakes or cookies so it never sits more then a month but my niece has used it up to 3 months later without issue
Love the coconut video. You are brilliant