Cherry, chocolate and coconut traybake

Five ingredients and about five minutes work to get into the oven – now that’s efficient!  Seriously, look how short the method is to make these.  These bars are a cross between coconut ice and an old fashioned coconut macaroon, with chewy bits of cherry and little chunks of chocolate thrown in for good measure. 

This is what a term a ‘me’ bake.  It uses some of my favourite ingredients but, at the same time, I knew it wouldn’t appeal to other members of my family as much as it did me.   (Don’t worry – I made them some rock buns on the side to ensure everyone was happy!)

I recommend cutting the fingers while the mix is soft and warm from the oven; you’ll have to cut again once cool but the grooves will guide your knife and stop the traybake crumbling too much.

These are crispy, crunchy and chewy at the same time but what I loved most of all were the little jammy sticky bursts of cherry – simply delicious!  Now I am an annoying baker; the sort that says to their eaters, ‘there are only five ingredients in these, who can guess what they are?’  Mr CC guessed flour (nope, does this make them gluten free?), butter (no) and then almonds.  And I know why he guessed almonds – the squidgy dense texture is reminiscent of the frangipane layer of a bakewell, and the cherries taste very jammy.  Therefore, if you like coconut and you like bakewells you will love these!

Ingredients

200g desiccated coconut
50-85g caster sugar, depending how sweet your tooth is -I used 85g obviously!
2 eggs
200g white chocolate, roughly chopped
90g glace cherries, chopped into quarters

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Line a 24cm x 20cm roasting tin with baking paper or non stick foil.

Mix together all the ingredients until well combined.

Spoon into the prepared tin and level the surface.  Take time to ensure the mix is pressed down and there are no air pockets.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and it feels firm to the touch.

Use a knife to score the warm mix into bars and then leave to cool completely.

Use the score lines to cut into fingers when cool.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.