Chocolate Coconut Rough Slice

Firstly - Happy Easter everyone!

Secondly - do you guys remember Golden Roughs?

My parents and grandparents used to own a newsagency in my small hometown. It was an incredibly successful business, but I saw how hard they worked. Every day someone would go to work at 4 in the morning to open the shop and the last person to leave usually left at 6 or 7. They worked incredibly hard for over 20 years - and I think that's where I learned the value of hard work. We didn't have a lot of material possessions, and some of my best childhood memories were spent in the back of the shop, as we spent a lot of time there, but having seen how successful my family is, I know the hard work is always worth it.

And this leads me to one of those childhood memories. Every Friday afternoon my brother and I were allowed a special treat from the shop. We would walk from school to main street, where the shop was, which wasn't very far, but always felt so grown up. When we would get there we each got a drink, a chocolate and got to read a magazine. It was our weekly chocolate treat. I always got an Oak Iced Coffee and a Golden Rough. Shaun always got an Oak Chocolate Milk and a Cherry Ripe. And we read Archie Comics.

I still obsess over Archie Comics. They epitomize my idea of America. Especially, small town high schools in America. And I love them all - particularly Betty and Veronica. And a malt shop? If I ever get to go to one, I will be the happiest person ever.

I don't obsess over Golden Rough's anymore. But my grandmother makes a slice that equals the mass produced chocolate in taste (the crunch and coconut is brilliant), but with less calories. I mean, not many less calories, but the point stands.

So this recipe is my grandmother's - and I dedicate this post to her and my grandad - two of the most inspirational people in my life, who are the hardest workers I know and who are such amazing people.
(Love you Nonno and Nonna - if you are reading this).

Level of Difficulty: So easy.

Average Cost: $

Main Ingredients: Coconut and condensed milk and a lot of sugar.

Occasion: Great to bring to a party as a treat

Makes 20 very small slices. I make my slices very small so I don’t eat much and it is automatically portion controlled. Also, the slice tends to last longer then, as I restrict myself to one slice a day. In all honesty, I would usually cut this into 24 slices, but it is completely up to you how to cut it.

You will need:

For the Base:

1 cup self raising / all purpose flour
1/2 cup castor sugar

1 dessertspoon cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup coconut
 100 g butter

For the Topping:
3 tablespoons condensed milk

28 g butter
1 tablespoon cocoa

1 cup coconut
1 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

What to do:

Preheat oven to moderate/180 degrees Celsius.

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the sugar, cocoa and salt. Mix well.

Melt the butter and add, with coconut, to the mixture. Mix until a thick wet batter is formed. It will be very thick and difficult to press into a pan.

Press the mixture into a greased pan (I greased mine with coconut oil, simply to keep the coconut theme going). My tin was 20 cm x 28 cm, but you can make a smaller and thicker slice if you want.

It is difficult to press the mixture into a pan, as it is very thick and coconut-y. I used my, well washed, hands to ensure it covered the whole pan.

Bake in a moderate oven for 25 minutes. Watch carefully after 20 to make sure the edges of the slice do not burn (you can always cut them off if you do).

Take the slice out of the oven. You should make the topping while the slice cools. I usually spread the topping on the slice after it has cooled for 10 minutes – you don’t want it too cool.

To make the topping, simply combine all the ingredients.

Spread this over the slice. This is even more difficult to do, as the mixture is very thick and sticky this time, so it sticks to the spoon/your hands. I used my hands, which seemed to work best. You have to just press and move the mixture around as best as possible. Try to get the topping to cover the entire slice, including the corners. If it looks messy, it doesn’t matter – it’s called chocolate coconut rough!

Allow slice to rest so topping hardens slightly. This is about 20-30 mins at room temperature. The slice can be kept in the fridge or frozen for use later. If freezing slice, simply put in the fridge a day before you want to eat it, and it will be fine to eat. 

I swear I actually do eat healthily by the way. I actually have been so busy lately my eating has been all out of whack, which has been making me stress, and the eating gets worse. Especially with Easter, and eating chocolate, I have been worrying a lot about my food consumption. Which is silly, I know, so I am trying to stop. But this slice, if eaten in small doses, is not incredibly unhealthy. Sure, the sugar is in there in copious amounts, and if you don't eat sugar, this is not the treat for you, but if you don't mind the sugar, eating one or two of these slices will be fine.

I ate one slice of this - this is a welcome home present for my roomates. It was going to be a surprise, but they may read this (hi guys) and if they do, well, no more surprise. I got home from work this afternoon and really wanted to cook, so I went a little crazy. So they have plenty to look forward to when they get back - I hope its soon, it is a bit lonely and quiet here without them.

Buuuttt - my Mum gets here on Wednesday! So there will be a few lovely posts about eating out in Brisbane as all we intend to do for three days is eat and shop. Who doesn't want to do that.