Great Granny’s Coconut Ice

There’s two things I think of when I think of my Granny (The Boys Great Granny): endless cups of tea & Coconut Ice. And not the pink & white condensed milk version that seems to come up whenever you search for a recipe. I’m talking about the good old fashioned Scottish sweet shop version with just 3 simple ingredients, boiled in a pot until it “spits at you”!

So a few years back after Christmas dinner I asked Great Granny to write down the recipe of her infamous Coconut Ice. I can still remember her laughing at me even wanting it written down as it’s so simple, she’d always just done it from memory. She told me it without a second thought, as if it was ingrained in her memory and I wrote it on a piece of scrap paper which I still have to this day.

In fact, this recipe holds such reference to Great Granny that there was even a bake-off style competition between our family to try and recreate the infamous coconut ice to enjoy in her memory at her funeral. It’s safe to say this was the winning one (not that I let-on to having the recipe when agreeing upon a competition…) and although it may not have the Bobby hairs that Great Granny’s Coconut Ice had, it’s still in the style of her well loved & remembered treat.

Print Recipe

Coconut Ice

Prep Time15 mins

Ingredients

• 500 g bag of Granulated Sugar.
• Half a Pint of Whole Milk.
• 200 g of Dessicated Coconut.
• Few drops of pink food colouring optional.

Instructions

• Grease your baking tray with a little butter or coconut oil.
• In a large pan mix the milk & sugar together over a low heat.
• When the sugar granules have dissolved, add the coconut & a few drops of pink colouring (optional) to the pan.
• Bring the mixture to the boil until it start to "spit at you," stirring continuously. Continue to stir for around 10 minutes.
• After around 10 minutes the mixture will have become very thick & sticky. "When you can spoon a small amount into cold water & it remains set together, you know it's ready."
• Spoon the delicious mixture to your pre-greased tin, spreading evenly with the back of your spoon. Allow to cool & set, which will take at least a few hours but ideally overnight.
• Cut into bars or squares & enjoy!

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