Yes, it’s Christmas time and I am making gifts for friends and neighbors. I enjoy giving “perishable” gifts: Baked goods, relishes and jams and jellies that use produce from my gardens. And best of all, everyone is happy to receive them!
I started making chocolate-covered coconut bread bites for the Virginia Renaissance Faire. And it is because of my chocolate-covered coconut bread bites that this blog exists: One of our Faire’s visitors asked me so sweetly and imploringly for my recipe, I couldn’t tell her no. So, Miranda, here it is. Enjoy!
See also: Gluten-Free Chocolate-Covered Coconut Bread Bites
The Inside Scoop
When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of sugar is 192 grams. By volume, this measure will be less than 1 cup.
Do not use organic, unsweetened coconut flakes; the flavor is too strong.
Place the sweetened shredded coconut in the bowl of a small food processor and pulse to form smaller, finer flakes. This helps to reduce crumbling when the coconut bread is sliced and dipped into the chocolate.
Before baking, line a rimmed baking sheet or baking pan with parchment paper. After baking, the coconut bread needs to be sliced into bite-size pieces and frozen so that it doesn’t crumble and fall apart when it is dipped in chocolate. The parchment paper is needed to lift the frozen pieces of coconut bread out of the pan.
Let the butter soften to room temperature: Very soft but not melted. To soften quickly, place the stick of wrapped butter in a microwave and microwave on low heat until very soft but not melted. Leaving the butter in the original paper helps it soften evenly.
Be sure eggs are at room temperature. Warm eggs hold more air than cold eggs, which means a lighter bread. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature before cracking, place eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 10 minutes.
Crack eggs into a small bowl before adding to the batter. That way, it is easy to remove any bits of eggshell or bloody eggs. Add the milk and vanilla to the eggs and whisk together.
In a medium bowl; beat the softened butter and sugar together until light. Add the egg and milk mixture, mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and coconut. Make a well in the middle of the flour; this reduces the likelihood of dry flour left in the bottom of the bowl.
Pour the wet ingredients into the well and fold just enough to combine.
Stir together just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. Do not overstir; excessive stirring will cause gluten to form and make for tough, chewy bread bites.
For smaller bites, such as those pictured in the gluten-free version of this recipe, use a rimmed 9″ x 13″ baking sheet. For larger bites, as is pictured here, use a baking pan that measures 8″ x 12″ on the bottom.
After baking, let the coconut bread cool to room temperature and then cut into approximately 1″ cubes. Cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours.
If you are skilled at tempering chocolate, do so at this time. If you are not, use light or dark chocolate melts. (Wilton’s melting caps are available in most areas.) Place approximately 1 1/2 pounds (2 12-oz. packages) of light or dark chocolate melts in the bowl of a crock-pot and set to the LOWEST temperature. Put the cover on and let the chocolate melt for approximately 15 minutes or until the chocolate just begins to melt. Remove the cover and stir; if the chocolate becomes smooth upon stirring, turn the crock pot off. If lumps of chocolate melts remain, continue heating for a few minutes at a time. Do not let the chocolate overheat- it will become hard and can burn. If the chocolate cools and begins to set, turn the crock-pot on until the chocolate becomes smooth again. You will need to heat and cool the chocolate several times while dipping batches of coconut bread.
Melt small batches of chocolate melts at a time. Bread bite crumbs will fall into the chocolate. Working with small batches of chocolate means that you will only have a few bites with noticeable crumbs in the chocolate.
Once the coconut bread is frozen and the chocolate or chocolate melts are ready, line a small, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper to catch chocolate that drips off. Place a cooling rack on top of the parchment paper. Use a candy dipping tine to dip the coconut bread into the chocolate. Unlike fruit, which is typically dipped in all the way, do not dip the bottom of the coconut bread bite into the chocolate; the chocolate will break off when the dipping tine is removed. And chocolate will stick to the cooling rack. Once the top and most of the sides of the coconut bread bite have been dipped, remove the bite from the tine and place, undipped-side down, on the cooling rack while you dip the other pieces.
First dip.
The chocolate will set almost instantly. Once you have filled the cooling rack wtih bread bites that have been dipped on the top and sides, decide if the bread bites are still mostly frozen; if they are now at room temperature, return to the freezer until frozen. If bread bites are still mostly frozen, use a spatula to “paint” the chocolate onto the undipped side and place back onto the cooling rack. Oh, and be sure to wear food-safe gloves.
Once all the bread bites have been dipped for the second time, place the baking sheet with the chocolate-covered coconut bread bites in the refrigerator to set.
After the chocolate sets, place the chocolate-covered coconut bread bites into airtight containers and seal. Store at room temperature for a week or in the freezer. DO NOT REFRIGERATE. Chocolate will dry out in the refrigerator.
A delicious coconut bread, cut into bite-sized pieces and dipped in chocolate. Just a little bit of heaven on earth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of the desired size baking sheet (see The Inside Scoop for a discussion) with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and butter; mix well until light. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sweetened shredded coconut, cinnamon, baking powder and salt; mix thoroughly. Make a well in the center of the flour mix; add the egg and milk mixture. Fold together just until combined; do not overmix. Pour the batter evenly into the parchment-lined baking sheet or pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven; cool. Cut coconut bread into 1” cubes, cover with plastic wrap and place in a freezer for at least 2 hours, until frozen. After 2 hours, either: Temper dipping chocolate or place 2 packages of chocolate candy melts into the bowl of a crock pot and cover with the lid. On the lowest heat setting, heat the chocolate until it starts to melt; remove the cover and stir. If there are unmelted pieces of chocolate, continue heating until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Turn off the crock-pot. While chocolate candy melts are melting, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a cooling rack on top. Remove the coconut bread from the freezer; loosen several rows. Place one cube of coconut bread on the tines of a candy dipping fork and dip the top and sides of the bread bite into the chocolate. Place the undipped side on the cooling rack and continue with enough pieces to fill the cooling rack. If dipped coconut bread has warmed to room temperature, cover and return to the freezer. Cover and place the undipped bread bites in the freezer. After partially-dipped bread bites have refrozen, use a rubber spatula to “paint” the chocolate onto the undipped side; place on the cooling rack. After all of the pieces have been completely covered with chocolate, place the baking sheet with the chocolate bites in the refrigerator to set. Once set, remove the bread bites from the refrigerator and place into sealable containers. Continue melting chocolate and dipping coconut bread until all of the bread bites have been covered in chocolate. Store at room temperature for a week or in the freezer. Enjoy!Chocolate-Covered Coconut Bread Bites
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