Coconut Ganache Nests

Mini Eggs.

Need I say more?

Sometimes you just need to create a dessert to highlight something special. Like how I made the Baked Kahlua Pineapple Flutter– it was really all about the Kahlua. Or the Bittersweet Chocolate Oatmeal Bars– we all know the oatmeal was used merely to envelop the massive layer of thick, rich chocolate, and would be kicked to the curb on its own. (Actually that’s not true. The oatmeal in those bars is made like a buttery cookie, and so it’s blasphemous for me to insinuate that an oatmeal cookie can’t hold its own as a dessert. Let’s pretend I never said that.)

So here we are… with a bag of Mini Eggs (holy crap- they cost almost $5- who knew that the Cadbury people were raking in the cash off these seasonal little buggers?)… what to do, what to do. (Other than eat them one by one on the couch until nauseous with an empty bag in hand?) Place them on top of chocolate coconut macaroon nests, filled with chocolate ganache, of course. (And save a few for the couch, for later.)

Adapted from my very own yummified Coconut Macaroon recipe… makes 18 – 20 muffin-cup nests or 10 – 12 large individual nests (like top picture).

COCONUT MACAROON BASE:

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

2 teaspoons vanilla

10 cups Angel Flake coconut (or another brand of sweetened & shredded coconut) (equal to 2 of the 4 oz. bags)

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate (4 oz. chopped from a block or in chip form- for melting into coconut mixture)

3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional- to sprinkle into coconut for texture)

GANACHE:

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate (or 8 oz.)
1. MACAROON NEST BASE: Preheat oven to 325° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (Or fill 20 muffin cups with liners; spray with non-stick spray.)
2. In a large bowl, melt the 2/3 cup of the chocolate in the microwave for 1:20 seconds, stirring, then placing back in the microwave for 15-second increments until melted and smooth.
3. Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract to the melted chocolate, stirring until well combined. Stir the coconut and mini chocolate chips (if using) into the bowl with chocolate mixture until combined.
4. Scoop about 4 tablespoons of coconut “batter” onto parchment paper and press gently in the center to create a nest shape. For muffin cup nests, scoop 2 heaping tablespoons of coconut “batter” into the prepared muffin cups, making sure to press an indentation into each mound of coconut (to house the ganache and Mini Eggs later). Keep some edges of the coconut looking like a nest if you can.
5. Bake for 20 minutes (until golden on top and edges) if making large, free-form nests, and 15 minutes if using regular muffin cups. Remove from oven and allow to cool on racks.
6. CHOCOLATE GANACHE: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it just begins to boil; remove from heat immediately and pour over chocolate. Wait 5 minutes then whisk/stir ganache into a smooth mixture. Allow to set for about 5 minutes before scooping into nests. Gently press Mini Eggs into surface of ganache. Allow nests to set for an hour.
Tips:
- Fluff up the coconut before adding it to your bowl. It tends to clump together in the bag, and it will make your job of stirring a lot easier if you break it up first. (I am a big fan of Angel Flake coconut, let me tell you. In the absense of this flaked brand, you can use shredded coconut. Don’t go near the dried & unsweetened dessicated coconut for these recipes.)
- Chocolate choices? By all means- switch the semi-sweet with bittersweet, or milk chocolate.
- Dry or moist? It’s the age-old debate- do you like your cookies crispy or chewy? As a rule, macaroons should be chewier than crispy, and these recipes reflect a significant amount of chew factor. If you prefer cookies on the drier side, you can add more coconut or bake a little longer. Your call.
- When stirring the coconut into the chocolate mixture, you might want to stir well to combine and then add a bit of coconut to the mix without stirring perfectly so that you end up with a nest that has a variety of shades of brown. The picture at the top has different gradations (some are just from the char from the oven, I admit, since I accidentally baked them at 375°… all very reminiscent of the Maca-Ruin disaster).
- Want this to be dairy free? Check out the original macaroon post here and select the DF option of the two. (Eliminate the almond extract because it will compete with the chocolate flavor, and don’t forget to melt a bit of chocolate to stir into the batter like in the recipe above.) Oh, and you’ll have to skip the Mini Eggs. Sorry.
- As for the marshmallow Peep that I cut in half to stick on the top of the ganache: part of me would like to apologize, and the other would like to say “see, it’s a kid-friendly dessert”. Feel free to skip the Peep. Really.
- Enjoy! And Hoppy Easter if you’re into that sort of thing.
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March 31st, 2013 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Candies, Chocolate, Coconut