Home › Cavewoman Breads, Dumplin's and Mush › Coconut Toast
Coconut Toast
Cut bread slices in convenient finger sizes, cover them all over with condensed milk, then roll in chopped nuts or chopped shredded coconut, put on toasting fork and toast over the coals.
A campfire sweet built from three shelf-stable things: bread, a can, and a bag of nuts. The whole trick is heat management, since sugared milk and coconut scorch long before the bread colours.
- Which condensed milkThis means sweetened condensed milk, the thick syrupy kind, not evaporated milk. Evaporated will run straight off the bread and give you no sweetness.
- Coals, not flamesToast over glowing embers that have burned down grey, held well above them. Over open flame the sugared milk is liable to scorch before the bread has warmed through.
- Bread choiceA firm white loaf, cut fairly thick and slightly stale, holds up best. Fresh soft sandwich bread tends to collapse on the fork once the milk soaks in.
- Shredded coconutShredded coconut of the period could be drier and less sweet than today's sweetened flake, though sweetened kinds were also sold. Sweetened flake browns faster, so shorten the time at the fire.
- Getting the coating to stickSpread the milk thinly with a knife rather than dunking, then press the fingers into a shallow plate of nuts or coconut so the coating adheres in a single layer. Loose shreds drop into the fire and flare.
- How longTwo to three minutes total, turning constantly. Pull them when the coconut is patchy gold; the residual heat will darken it further.
- IndoorsA broiler set high does the same job in one to two minutes a side on a rack set well below the element, watched the entire time.