Cocada Chiapaneca

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy clay cazuela or 5-quart Dutch oven
• •Box grater or food processor
• •Wooden spoon with a flat edge
• •Butter-greased tray or banana leaf-lined tray

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the coconut

   Crack the coconuts and drain the water. Pry out the white meat, peel away the thin brown skin with a small knife or vegetable peeler, and shred the coconut finely on a box grater or in a food processor. Do not turn it into paste. You want fine shreds that still have texture under the teeth.

2. 2

   Start the syrup

   Set a wide heavy cazuela or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the whole milk, granulated sugar, piloncillo, canela, and salt. Stir until the sugars dissolve and the milk turns the color of weak coffee. Piloncillo gives the cocada its deep flavor. White sugar alone makes a flat candy.

3. 3

   Cook the coconut

   Add the shredded coconut and stir well. Lower the heat so the mixture bubbles gently. Cook for 45 to 55 minutes, stirring often at first and almost constantly once the mixture thickens. Scrape the bottom and corners of the pot every time. The coconut should drink up the milk, turn glossy, and darken from white to pale honey.

4. 4

   Thicken the candy

   Keep cooking until a spoon dragged across the bottom leaves a clean path for two seconds before the coconut closes back in. The mixture should mound instead of run. If it smells scorched, your heat is too high. Candy punishes impatience. No me vengas con atajos.

   A wide pot matters. A narrow pot traps moisture and makes you cook longer, which turns the coconut tough before the syrup thickens.
5. 5

   Add the yolks

   Remove the pot from the heat. Scoop 1/2 cup of the hot coconut mixture into the beaten egg yolks and whisk quickly. Stir the warmed yolks back into the pot. Return to low heat and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture looks glossy and holds together. The yolks give body and color. They should not scramble.

6. 6

   Finish the flavor

   Remove the canela stick and stir in the vanilla. Taste carefully. It should be sweet, rich with milk, and unmistakably coconut, not just sugar. If the mixture still looks loose, cook it a few minutes more. A good cocada holds its shape without becoming dry.

7. 7

   Shape the cocadas

   Lightly grease a tray with unsalted butter. While the mixture is warm, use two spoons to shape rough mounds, about 2 tablespoons each, and set them on the tray. Do not make them perfect. Market cocadas have the hand of the cook in them. Let them cool until firm on the outside and tender inside.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh mature coconut when you can. The bagged sweetened coconut from the baking aisle is already sugared and dried. That is not a shortcut, it is a different ingredient.
• •Frozen unsweetened grated coconut from a Latin or Asian market is an acceptable compromise if fresh coconuts are poor. Thaw it, squeeze out excess water, and cook it the same way.
• •Mexican canela is softer and more floral than hard cassia cinnamon. Ask for canela at the mercado or a Mexican grocery. Preguntale a las señoras del mercado. They know which stick smells alive.
• •Do not chase whiteness. Chiapas cocada should be honey-brown from piloncillo and reduced milk. Pale coconut candy belongs to another recipe.
• •This is not a spicy dessert because not all Mexican food is chile and lime. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Advance Preparation

• •Cocadas keep for 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature in a cool kitchen. In humid weather, refrigerate them and bring them back to room temperature before serving.
• •The coconut can be cracked, peeled, and shredded one day ahead. Refrigerate it covered, then let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking.
• •Do not freeze cocadas. The milk candy turns grainy and the coconut loses its chew.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 40g)