Is My Coconut Lime Torte Crust Too Hard?

[kam]

I made this tonight to bring to friends for dessert...and the crust was SO HARD! It tasted good, but VERY difficult to "chisel" into. haha

Anyone else have this happen? I was expecting the shell part to be almost sponge like. At the very least I was expecting it to be softer.

I toasted the coconut...maybe a little too much? But would that have really made a difference? It was a nice dark golden brown. It was about as dark as I usually toast coconut for other uses.

I did hold off 1 cup untoasted and mix it in. I baked for the 10 minute minimum.

I used store brand coconut and I am wondering if that might be the difference. I know sometimes store brands make a difference, but not sure if coconut is one of those items...

Opinions??? THANKS!

 

[Ginger428]

I made this twice already. The first time I cooked it too long & had the same problem. Could not cut through it. The next time I cooked it as dircted & it came out perfect!!!

 

[kam]

That is what is baffling me - I didn't cook it too long. It says to cook the shell 10-12 minutes and I cooked it 10 minutes.

The only thing I went longer on was toasting the coconut. After the 5 minutes in the microwave, it was barely toasted - so I toasted it longer.

Anyone have any insight on using store brand Coconut as opposed to name brand?

 

[Ginger428]

I think I used a name brand, but I don't think I cooked it too long in the microwave either cuz it smelled weird...HTH

 

[babywings76]

Maybe you toasted it too long then? For your microwave, I mean. Not sure. It is a little tough to cut through, though. I love this recipe, but the other down side to it is that it slides all over on the cake platter...so if you have to transport this--watch out! I made this and put the S&B spinner bowl on top of it and put it on the floor behind the front passenger seat in my minivan. As I went around bends in the road and made turns I'd have to reach back and hold that sucker in place, because the first turn I made the thing slide almost half-way off the platter!!! It would've been better if someone had it on their lap. But anyway, back to the coconut...
When you toast it in the microwave, be really precise on stopping it's cooking as the recipe indicates to stir it around. It very quickly goes from white to toasted to almost burnt as the time goes on. Those hot spots develop and you have to be careful.

 

[PCLaurel]

I wonder if part of the problem isn't the microwave itself. I mean, when you reheat leftovers or warm up bread in it, sometimes things get a little tough or chewy. I wonder if you would get any different result if you toasted the coconut in a pan on the stove or in the oven?

 

[kam]

Maybe you toasted it too long then? For your microwave, I mean. Not sure. It is a little tough to cut through, though. I love this recipe, but the other down side to it is that it slides all over on the cake platter...so if you have to transport this--watch out! I made this and put the S&B spinner bowl on top of it and put it on the floor behind the front passenger seat in my minivan. As I went around bends in the road and made turns I'd have to reach back and hold that sucker in place, because the first turn I made the thing slide almost half-way off the platter!!! It would've been better if someone had it on their lap.

But anyway, back to the coconut...
When you toast it in the microwave, be really precise on stopping it's cooking as the recipe indicates to stir it around. It very quickly goes from white to toasted to almost burnt as the time goes on. Those hot spots develop and you have to be careful.

I wonder if part of the problem isn't the microwave itself. I mean, when you reheat leftovers or warm up bread in it, sometimes things get a little tough or chewy. I wonder if you would get any different result if you toasted the coconut in a pan on the stove or in the oven?

Yes, I stopped it constantly to stir it. For the first 3 minutes, I was able to wait just about the minute between stirs, but for the final 2 minutes, I was stirring every 20 seconds. I went longer since it was barely brown/toasted after the 5 minutes stated in the recipe.

I toasted it to about the darkness I would have toasted it had I done it in the oven. I am thinking that maybe that was to much toasting - and took out too much moisture from the coconut that was needed to keep the torte part soft.???

But, I did have a bag of Baker's coconut I had to use for something else yesterday - and I don't know if it was my imagination or not - but it seemed fluffier and moister when I opened the bag. But, again, that very well could have been all in my head!

 

[Ginger428]

Yes, I stopped it constantly to stir it. For the first 3 minutes, I was able to wait just about the minute between stirs, but for the final 2 minutes, I was stirring every 20 seconds. I went longer since it was barely brown/toasted after the 5 minutes stated in the recipe.

I toasted it to about the darkness I would have toasted it had I done it in the oven. I am thinking that maybe that was to much toasting - and took out too much moisture from the coconut that was needed to keep the torte part soft.???

But, I did have a bag of Baker's coconut I had to use for something else yesterday - and I don't know if it was my imagination or not - but it seemed fluffier and moister when I opened the bag. But, again, that very well could have been all in my head!

Kam: thats what I was looking for the first time. I kept looking for toasted out of the microwave. Next time I just stopped when I felt was enough, not by color & it came out great! HTH