Coconut ice (klapperys)
Here is a classic recipe for coconut ice, but with a modern tweak.
Marietjie's mother got the recipe from Aunt Hetty Gouws. Aunt Hetty used a drop of red food colouring for the pink coconut icing, but because we avoid artificial food colouring when we can, Marietjie experimented with natural freeze-dried raspberry powder, with excellent results.
You can use any colour or flavour you want to, of course.
Ingredients
- 4½ cups (570 gram) icing sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) salt
- 3¾ cups (360 gram) desiccated coconut
- 1 x 395-gram tin condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 drop of food colouring, or 1 to 2 teaspoons (15 ml to 30 ml) Fresh-As Raspberry Powder (made in, and exported from, New Zealand)
Method
- Line a 20 cm x 25 cm x 5cm dish with baking paper.
- Sift the icing sugar, cream of tartar and salt together.
- Add condensed milk, vanilla and coconut, and mix well. You can use a wooden spoon to get started, but because it's a dry mixture, it may be easier for you to use your hands.
- Press half of the mixture into the dish.
- Add the food colouring or raspberry powder to the other half of the coconut ice mixture. Knead through until you have an evenly coloured mixture.
- Press the pink coconut ice onto the white layer, and sprinkle with raspberry powder.
- Chill in the fridge for at least three hours. Once set, you can cut it into squares or bars.