Ingredients
-
Bread flour (strong white flour)
-
baking powder
-
coconut sugar
-
allspice (ground)
-
Nutmeg (ground)
-
Salt (table/ordinary)
-
Sweetened moist coconut flakes
-
Large eggs
-
coconut milk
Directions
Carib-Ghanaian Poloo (Sweet Coconut Bars)
Crunchy on the outside, deliciously moist on the inside, these coconut bars are an absolute delight.
Ingredients
- 180 g strong white flour (bread flour)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 50 g coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 1 tsp allspice (grated/powdered)
- ¼ tsp salt (table salt)
- ¼ tsp nutmeg (grated/powdered)
- 400 g moist, sweetened coconut flakes* (e.g. Baker’s Angel Flake - see notes)
- 1 large egg (well-beaten)
- 30 ml coconut milk (or full-cream milk (whole milk))
- Oil for deep-frying
Instructions
- Using a mixer with a paddle (or K-beater), mix the flour, baking powder, coconut sugar, allspice, salt, and nutmeg together on low speed.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg and coconut milk together until well-combined)
- Add the coconut flakes and the egg/milk mixture to the dough.
- Switch the paddle/K-beater for a dough hook and mix on low speed until the mixture comes together to form a stiff, non-sticky dough. If the mixture fails to come together, you may need a little more (coconut) milk.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap in cling film, and chill until firm (about 30-60 minutes in the fridge).
- On a floured pastry board/mat, roll out the dough into a layer 0.6 cm (¼ in) thick, and cut into bars (2.5 cm/1 in wide by 7.5 cms/3 ins long).
- Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan/skillet or deep fat fryer to 180°C/350°F.
- Lower the bars into the hot oil and fry until golden brown.
- Place on a baking tray lined with absorbent paper (kitchen towel) and pat dry to remove excess oil.
- You can eat them right away (crisp on the outside, soft on the inside), or you⅓ can put them in a moderate oven (120°C/250°F) and bake them to make them crisper – after 30 minutes, they will be quite crunchy; after 1 hour, they will be hard, like a biscuit.
Notes
*For the sweetened coconut flakes, you can use a brand like Baker's Angel Flakes; or use 350 g/4 cups freshly-grated coconut flesh mixed with 50 g/1/3 US cup coconut sugar; or mix 200 g/2 cups of desiccated coconut with 50 g/1/3 US cup coconut sugar and soak in 160 ml/2/3 US cups of coconut milk overnight.
Nutrition
Sodium: 139mgCalcium: 37mgVitamin C: 1mgVitamin A: 31IUSugar: 8gFiber: 9gPotassium: 313mgCholesterol: 20mgCalories: 448kcalTrans Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 30gFat: 34gProtein: 7gCarbohydrates: 34gIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
