Cascaron

Fried first, then turned in a caramel that sets hard and crackles.

Vegan.

Ingredients

the balls

• 400 g glutinous rice flour
• 150 g desiccated coconut
• 250 ml water
• 1 pinch salt
• oil, for deep frying

the caramel

• 200 g muscovado sugar
• 4 tablespoons water

Method

1. FRIED, THEN COATED, and in that order. The caramel is made separately and goes on at the end: a ball rolled in sugar before frying simply burns.
2. Mix the flour, coconut, water and salt to a dough that rolls without sticking. Shape into balls the size of a walnut.
3. Fry at 160C for 6 to 7 minutes, turning. They puff a little and go crisp. Lift onto a rack.
4. FRY THEM GENTLY, not fast: glutinous rice flour browns outside long before the middle stops being raw paste, and a raw middle is the usual fault here.
5. Boil the muscovado and water hard for 3 to 4 minutes until it thickens and a drop sets firm in cold water.
6. Take the caramel off the heat, tip the balls in and turn them fast with a wooden spoon. Thread them onto skewers or separate them on paper at once -- 30 seconds later it is one lump.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

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