Coconut Macaroons

My recipe post for these came about purely out of  finding myself very bored one evening as the kids were fast asleep in bed and the husband was working. So there i was riding my cupboards thinking what to make and found quite a bit of packed dessicated coconut tucked away so coconut macaroons came to mind and my GBBO Book came to the rescue.

This recipe uses cream patisserie and before you think, ' no way can i make creme pat '  honestly its a very little amount so its very quick and easy - a great way to practice for any recipes that require larger amounts of cream patisserie. 

To make about 20 macaroons you will need 

For the cream patisserie :
5 tbsp milk
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 medium egg yolk

For the coconut mixture:
3 medium egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g caster sugar 
200g desiccated coconut

For the chocolate glaze (optional)
100g good quality dark chocolate
2 tbsp sunflower / vegetable oil 

• Start by making the creme patisserie, heat the milk in a small pan until it just comes to boil and remove from the heat. In a bowl, beat together the caster sugar, egg yolk and cornflour until pale and fluffy. 
• Gradually stir in the milk and whisk together. Pour the mixture back into the pan, and over a low-medium heat, whisk together until it boils and begins to thicken. You should end up with a smooth paste- it shouldn't be thick and lumpy. Scrape the mixture out into a small plate or bowl, press and seal it with a piece of cling film directly on to it - this stops a skin forming whilst it cools.
• Whilst the creme pat is cooling, Preheat your oven to 170c/gas mark 3. Add your egg whites to a bowl with the vanilla extract and beat till the egg whites become frothy. Add in the caster sugar and whisk together till the sugar has dissolved.
• Stir in the coconut until completely coated in mixture, then add in the creme pat and again stirring through till all the coconut is evenly coated and there are no lumps 
• Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper and using a teaspoon, scoop up the coconut mixture, making sure it's packed up tightly and place on to the baking tray and shape into a mound with your hands if you wish to. Repeat this with the rest of the mixture and you should end up with 20 macaroons.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and they should be golden in colour with slightly darker edges.
• One they have completely cooled, melt the chocolate with the oil in a small heatproof bowl/plate in the microwave in 30 second bursts or in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Taking one macaroon at a time , dip the base into the chocolate, evenly coating it with the chocolate slightly coming up the sides. Place the coated macaroons on a clean sheet of baking paper and leave to set completely before serving.*

*alternatively you can drizzle the chocolate over the top of the macaroons using a teaspoon or leave them as they are without any chocolate at all.