Cherry coconut chocolate slice

If you like a sweet treat that’s got a bit of cherry, a bit of coconut and is all delicious, then you’ll love this Cherry Coconut Chocolate Slice. No baking required – just melt, pour and set!

Ingredients (makes 36 small squares)

– 1 packet Arnotts Choc Ripple biscuits
– 2 x 200g blocks dark chocolate
– 2 x 200g blocks milk chocolate
– 1 1/2 cups dessicated or shredded coconut
– 125g copha
– 1/2 cup organic coconut oil
– 1 cup icing mixture
– 200g red glace cherries
– 1 – 2 tsp red food colouring

Method

1. Place all Choc Ripple biscuits into a large ziplock bag and crush to fine crumbs with a rolling pin (alternatively you could do this in a food processor).
2. Line a baking tray (I used a square 22cm x 22cm tray) with baking paper.
3. Place a heatproof glass jug in a saucepan of water and turn it on so that the water comes to the boil. Then turn down the heat so that it stays hot but is not bubbling. Break up one of the blocks of milk chocolate and one of the blocks of dark chocolate into small squares and place into the glass jug and allow the chocolate to melt completely (stir occasionally with a spoon).
4. Pour the biscuit crumbs into the melted chocolate and stir well to combine. Pour this mixture into the baking tray and gently smooth it right to the edges of the tray and aim for an even layer. Place into the fridge to set.
5. Rinse out your heatproof glass jug and top up the water in the saucepan and keep it simmering.
6. Place the red glace cherries into a small bowl of your food processor and process until very finely minced (or very finely chop the cherries by hand)
7. Place the copha and the coconut oil into the glass jug and allow this to melt completely. Then add the coconut, icing mixture and the pureed red glace cherries. The mixture will be fairly stiff but there should be a little excess liquid. Keep the water simmering and allow the coconut mixture to remain in the jug in the hot water for approx half an hour. Keep an eye on the water so it doesn’t boil dry. The aim is for the coconut to soften a little by absorbing some of the liquid.
8. Remove the base from the fridge and then spread the cherry coconut mixture over the top – again smoothing right to the edges and aiming for a level layer of mixture. Then back into the fridge to set.
9. Once the cherry layer is set, melt the last 200g of milk and 200g dark chocolate together and spread this over the cherry mixture. By this time there will be enough chill in the base and cherry mixture that you shouldn’t need to place this back into the fridge to set. But if it’s a super hot day, you can.
10. Once it’s completely set, remove from the tray and cut into bite-sized pieces (it is very rich so a little goes a long way). Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place (fridge or pantry depending on the weather).