Last year, I decided to host friends who were staying behind for Nochebuena, the traditional Cuban Christmas Eve dinner. Knowing a few would be missing home, I asked everyone to bring one thing that meant the holidays to them. I might have been more specific, because I ended up with no fewer than 10 boxes of Spanish turrón.
Apart from the roast pork drenched in mojo and white rice and black beans, sliced turrones served on trays at the end of the night are a requirement at every Cuban holiday. Traditionally made with marcona almonds, everyone has their favorites – whether it’s soft and fudgy Jijona, nougat-like Alicante, or egg-rich yema tostada.
Looking for my own hostess gift, I decided try my hand at turrón de coco – creamy shredded coconut cooked down with condensed milk and brightened with orange zest and a few drops of vanilla. A perfect blank slate for experimentation, it sets up quickly and can be boxed up to take. Of course, you might want to call first, but really, you can never have too many.
Turrón de Coco
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
3 cups finely shredded unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 ounces dark chocolate bar (at least 70% cacao), chopped
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Grease an 8-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, allowing overhang on all sides.
In a medium-size heavy saucepan, combine condensed milk, coconut milk, butter, orange zest, and shredded coconut. Stir constantly over medium heat until it begins to pull away from the pan and clumps together, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in the vanilla while still warm.
Pour into the prepared pan then spread evenly with an offset spatula until smooth. Bring to room temperature then wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
Place chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl and set over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir constantly until the chocolate is completely melted. Off heat, stir in the grapeseed oil.
While still in the pan, pour half of the melted chocolate over the coconut mixture and spread in an even layer. Chill in the freezer until set, about 10 minutes. Lift out of the pan and gently turn onto a layer of parchment or wax paper. Pour remaining chocolate over coconut and spread in even layers so that it is coated on both sides. Return to freezer until set, an additional 10 minutes. Peel off of wax paper, trim on all sides, and cut into two rectangular tablets. Cut into desired shapes.
Ana Sofia Peláez covers the spectrum of Spanish and Latin American cuisine on her blog hungrysofia.com. From the rich smells and flavors of the Cuban food she grew up with to modern Peruvian causas, hearty Brazilian feijodas and delicate Mexican flor de calabaza soup, she’s always looking for her next great meal.
Title…
[...]check beneath, are some completely unrelated sites to ours, nevertheless, they’re most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…
but learn from others. the best places…
to look at other blogs are at digg.com, google blog search, reddit, and squidoo these sites offer content which other people have written and can give you ideas to help you with our own blog.8. re-submissions. do not submit a lens…
Title…
[...]The details talked about within the write-up are several of the most effective readily available [...]…
Title…
[...]we came across a cool web site that you just could delight in. Take a look in case you want[...]…
Title…
[...]just beneath, are quite a few absolutely not related web sites to ours, nonetheless, they are surely worth going over[...]…
Title…
[...]very couple of web-sites that occur to be comprehensive beneath, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]always a massive fan of linking to bloggers that I appreciate but really don’t get a good deal of link appreciate from[...]…
Title…
[...]usually posts some very exciting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]…
Title…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but really don’t get lots of link appreciate from[...]…
Title…
[...]we came across a cool web page which you may possibly delight in. Take a search if you want[...]…
Title…
[...]just beneath, are many completely not associated sites to ours, having said that, they are certainly really worth going over[...]…
Title…
[...]please stop by the internet sites we comply with, such as this one particular, because it represents our picks through the web[...]…
Title…
[...]Every once in a even though we pick blogs that we read. Listed beneath are the most recent websites that we choose [...]…
Title…
[...]just beneath, are several completely not related web-sites to ours, even so, they’re surely worth going over[...]…
Title…
[...]the time to study or check out the content or web pages we have linked to below the[...]…
Title…
[...]that would be the end of this report. Here you will find some web sites that we believe you’ll value, just click the links over[...]…
Title…
[...]Here are a few of the web sites we recommend for our visitors[...]…
Title…
[...]one of our guests not long ago recommended the following website[...]…
Title…
[...]Here is a great Weblog You might Locate Interesting that we Encourage You[...]…
Title…
[...]we came across a cool internet site that you might love. Take a search in case you want[...]…
Title…
[...]the time to read or take a look at the content or websites we have linked to beneath the[...]…
Title…
[...]Here are some of the websites we suggest for our visitors[...]…
Title…
[...]usually posts some very intriguing stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]…
Title…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]below you’ll uncover the link to some web-sites that we feel you should visit[...]…
Title…
[...]check beneath, are some totally unrelated web-sites to ours, even so, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…
Title…
[...]we came across a cool website that you could delight in. Take a look if you want[...]…
Title…
[...]below you will uncover the link to some websites that we consider you need to visit[...]…
Title…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they’re essentially worth a go by means of, so have a look[...]…
Title…
[...]we came across a cool site that you just could delight in. Take a search when you want[...]…
Title…
[...]below you will locate the link to some web sites that we believe you ought to visit[...]…
Title…
[...]here are some hyperlinks to web-sites that we link to due to the fact we feel they may be really worth visiting[...]…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine some unrelated data, nevertheless actually worth taking a search, whoa did one particular find out about Mid East has got more problerms also [...]…
Title…
[...]The data talked about within the article are some of the very best readily available [...]…
it is an ever expanding and growing…
system of managing content and putting it online. it is designed for people who haven’t been to university and studied computer programming for four years. the number of widgets now available for easy insertion into a blog number in their thousands….
Title…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Title…
[...]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[...]…
Title…
[...]Every once in a though we pick out blogs that we read. Listed beneath are the most current web pages that we opt for [...]…
Title…
[...]please stop by the sites we adhere to, including this a single, as it represents our picks from the web[...]…
Title…
[...]check below, are some entirely unrelated websites to ours, even so, they’re most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated data, nevertheless definitely really worth taking a appear, whoa did 1 learn about Mid East has got a lot more problerms also [...]…
Title…
[...]Here are several of the internet sites we advocate for our visitors[...]…
Title…
[...]The facts mentioned within the post are several of the most beneficial accessible [...]…
Title…
[...]Here are several of the web-sites we recommend for our visitors[...]…
Title…
[...]Here is an excellent Blog You might Obtain Exciting that we Encourage You[...]…
Title…
[...]Every when inside a although we decide on blogs that we study. Listed beneath would be the most current web sites that we pick out [...]…
Title…
[...]Here is a superb Blog You might Obtain Exciting that we Encourage You[...]…
Title…
[...]that may be the end of this write-up. Here you will uncover some web-sites that we consider you’ll value, just click the links over[...]…
Title…
[...]please check out the websites we adhere to, which includes this a single, because it represents our picks through the web[...]…
Title…
[...]just beneath, are numerous entirely not connected web-sites to ours, nonetheless, they’re surely really worth going over[...]…