Cocadas or coconut cakes

How to make homemade cocadas . Today I present you a sweet recipe that you have to try yes or yes, coconut or coconut cakes .

All recipes have something special but this one also has a solidarity fund. During this week and with the help of her daughters, Natalia has made, baked and packaged these coconut sweets with the aim of putting them up for sale to raise funds at the school party for her daughters Ana and María.

Also taking advantage of my trip to Ourense this weekend I have encouraged myself to cook with them, the Pito Pito Gorgorito (on their YouTube channel) and have a great time, I think I have been an exemplary assistant and I have paid attention to them at all times … the result in the video. In a next video I am going to prepare a coconut flan for you , since coconut triumphs at home.

This sweet so typical in Spain is also prepared in most Latin American countries (Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Argentina), and is made in a different way than the one I present here, it is usually prepared with a base coconut and milk thereof, with much more coconut flavor . In Spain, the cocadas are usually made in the festive celebrations of some regions, for example, the cocadas from Villa de Almazán in Soria are very famous , which I encourage you to try if you go there.

Cocadas or kisses have been one of the desserts of my childhood because my mother prepared them many times, I have asked her for her recipe and I add it at the end of the post, so you have two versions of these classic sweets.

A dessert that could not be missing at the Magdalena festivities in my town, Viñoas or at family meals on Sunday as it is a very easy, fast and cheap recipe, with a fantastic result. You can include if you want chocolate, vary the amounts of coconut and add chopped nuts to your choice … without a doubt it will be spectacular. I encourage you to prepare them and I hope you like them.

Preparation of coconut bites or Cocadas

1. The first of all is to preheat the oven to around 190º C. The dough is very easy and fast and depending on whether we have everything mixed it goes directly to the oven.
2. We separate the whites from the yolks, reserve.
3. Add the egg whites and the yolk together with the sugar and salt in a large bowl and beat well until obtaining a foamy and fluffy mixture. Then add the previously sifted flour and beat everything again.
4. Finally we add the coconut, mix everything very well with a fork and we already have the dough of the cocaditas, it should be a creamy and homogeneous mixture. Try it, even raw it is delicious.
5. Prepare the oven tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
6. With a spoon, since the dough is quite creamy, we are making small portions or balls the size of a walnut.
7. We put them on the tray (with enough space so that when they are made they do not stick to each other, about 3 cm are enough). In my baking tray there are about 12 cocadas per batch, if you want more you just have to multiply the quantities.

Baking and final presentation of the cocadas

1. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 º C in the middle tray. With heat, air up and down, until golden.
2. As I told you everything depends on the oven of each one, in some it will be 14 minutes in others 20.
3. It looks perfectly when they are ready because they are taking a beautiful golden color. The only care you should have is that they don’t burn you.
4. When golden, they will be dry and toasted on the outside and creamy on the inside.
5. We take them out of the oven to harden and cool. It is important not to touch them when they are still hot since they could be soft.
6. Once cold, they are removed from the oven tray and they will be ready to serve.
7. We keep them in an airtight container so that they do not soften and they are vice, to repeat. Be careful because they are just addictive, highly addictive.

Cocadas recipe, in the style of my mother Rosa

Ingredients: 300 g of grated coconut, 150 g. sugar, 6 egg whites, 1 dash of lemon and butter.

Preparation of the cocadas

1. To the whites a lemon trickle is added before beginning to beat them and when they are almost on the verge of snow the sugar is incorporated little by little.
2. We continue beating. Finally, add the coconut, moving the mixture as necessary so that the whites do not fall. Everything must be well integrated.
3. We smear a baking sheet with a little butter and form piles with the pasta.
4. About 25 medium-sized cocadas come out, and we put them in the oven at 180º C for 20-25 minutes.