Coconut nostalgia

I have had a bit of a break from baking as we have been away over the Easter holidays, but the need for lunchbox fillers has spurred me back into action.  So what's with the Gorse photo?  Well I was out running in the sunshine yesterday and came across a beautiful patch of gorse.  The flowers had such a strong small of toasted coconut that I came over all nostalgic.  As a child one of my favourite things to bake was 'Coconut buns', in fact I think it was pretty much the only thing I used to bake.  I still love the taste of coconut and so I devised a recipe containing desiccated coconut, coconut milk and coconut flour!  Dried sour cherries are another favourite and I thought they might make a good combination.

Coconut flour is a new discovery for me.  It recently appeared in the 'free from' section of my local supermarket (Booths) and I have also seen it for sale in a number of health food shops.  It is high fibre, gluten free and low in carbohydrates, only 21.7g per 100g.  The big snag is the price.  I paid nearly six pounds for a 500g bag which is pretty steep.  I bought it out of curiosity and I have been using it sparingly.  If you don't have any coconut flour then just substitute with a little more ground almonds and flour.

The following recipe only makes six largish buns.  I didn't make too many as they are best eaten fresh but you could easily double the ingredients for more.

Coconut and Cherry Buns (Gluten free and low sugar)

Ingredients - makes 6 largish buns

• 25g coconut flour
• 50g gluten free self raising flour (I used Doves farm)
• 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
• 25g ground almonds
• 50g butter or lower fat alternative
• 20g Tate & Lyle Light at Heart, a brown sugar and stevia blend
• 50g dried sour cherries (or substitute with 'Berries and Cherries' or sultanas)
• 20g desiccated coconut
• 1 egg, beaten
• 6 tbsp of coconut milk (approximately 1/2 a 165ml can), or substitute with milk
• 3-4 tsp 'no added sugar' cherry jam (I used St Dalfour black cherry)

1. Preheat the oven to 190C / Gas 5.  Grease a baking tray or line with non-stick silicone paper.
2. Sift the coconut flour, self raising flour and baking powder into a bowl, then add the ground almonds, breaking up any lumps.  Add the butter, cutting into small pieces, and rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  
3. Add the 'Light at Heart' sugar substitute, dried fruit and coconut and mix well.
4. Stir in the egg and coconut milk to bind, making a stiff mixture.
5. Place rough heaps of mixture on the baking tray, 5cm apart.  Using your thumb make a 'well' in the middle of each heap and fill this with about half a teaspoon of jam.  If necessary bring up the sides of each heap around the jam so that it doesn't leak out when cooking.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until pale brown.  Allow to cool for a few minutes on the tray, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I estimated each bun had roughly 20g of carbs, but you may need to do your own calculations if you make any substitutions for the ingredients.