Skip links
[mgt_promo_block_wp background_image_id=”451″ parallax=”1″ block_width=”100%” block_height=”550px” darken_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.25)” animated=”0″ unique_block_id=”52207726538″ format_h1_fontsize=”68px” format_h1_color=”#ffffff” format_p_fontsize=”16px” format_p_color=”#ffffff”]

[/mgt_promo_block_wp]

Coconut Fingers

Delicious!
Story by Emma-Jane Richards, sharing her love for Coconut Fingers

 

When I think about Coconut Fingers  I think of two things; weddings and My Nanny Lillian.  Weddings because there were always coconut fingers served at weddings and after you ate your weight in pineapple and cheese on sticks and curry puffs, coconut fingers were the best thing ever at a wedding.  They remind me of my Nanny because she would make dozens and dozens of them in her little kitchen to sell at the Half Tree Hollow Community Centre at Saturday night dances back in the day when everyone you knew went to dances were bands played the Boston and you got to have a good ole’ swing out.

2 Stories about Coconut Fingers available

 

View all stories about Coconut Fingers

How to make Coconut Fingers

Coconut Fingers

A delicious cake unique to St Helena. Learn how to make Coconut Fingers with this easy to follow recipe. Including video and images.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Saint, Saint Helena, Saint Helena Island, St Helena, St Helena Island
Author The Saint Cooks
Total Time 3 hours
Servings 30 Fingers

Equipment

  • Flat Cake Tray (Approx. 3-5cm high)
  • Cooling Rack

Ingredients

  • 283 g Plain Flour
  • 225 g Granulated Sugar
  • 225 g Butter or Margarine
  • 4 Eggs
  • Vanilla Essence
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 750 g Icing Sugar
  • 1 kg Desiccated Coconut
  • Pink or Red Food Colouring

Instructions

Making the Cake Base

  • Cream the sugar and butter/margarine in a bowl until soft and light in colour.
  • Mix in the eggs one at a time, and one tablespoon of sifted flour to the mixture.
  • Add a few drops of the vanilla essence to the mixture.  Mix well.
  • Add the remaining sifted flour and the baking powder.  Mix well.
  • Line the baking tray with bakery parchment.
  • Place mixture into a flat cake tin and bake in a moderate oven at 350F / 180c / Gas 4 for 18-20 minutes.

Making the Coconut Fingers

  • Make sure that the cake is completely cooled from baking.  Otherwise the icing will melt during decoration.
  • Cut the cake into fingers about 7-10 cm long by 2-3 cm wide.
  • Using a medium/large bowl, mix some of the icing sugar with water to make the icing mixture.  Start with a few drops of water, adding more as you mix, until it has the consistency of Tomato sauce. (Note: Depending on the amount of cake fingers you have, it is best to make make a small amount of icing and make more as required).
  • Add a few drops of the food colouring to the icing sugar mixture.  Mix it well.
  • Add some of the Coconut to a medium/large bowl.
  • Using a fork or your fingers dip the fingers into the icing sugar bowl, making sure to cover all the sides of the cake with icing.
  • Then roll the fingers in the coconut bowl.
  • Leave to set on a plate.
  • Once set, enjoy with a hot beverage, or a glass of milk.  Perfect for any occasion really.  Robin likes to eat as many as he can just by themselves.  Whereas Emma-Jane likes hers with a nice hot cuppa.

 

Share your story about Coconut Fingers

We would love to hear what made the recipe special for you.
Share and celebrate St Helena cooking with us.

 

Add Your Story

Image:   James Bay, St Helena Island

Leave a comment