Ever had coconut ice? How about watermelon ice? A while back I was invited to join in a sweet swap with other Australian food bloggers by Sara over at BellyRumbles.com. Never one to shy away from anything sweet, I said I was in!
Then my sister came to visit from New York and I had a blogging workshop to do a presentation for and then my 92-year old father-in-law arrived. Talk about burning the candle at both ends. I knew I’d be a bit late on my delivery but I hadn’t seen anyone in my family for years and I was determined that I wasn’t going to miss one single moment.
To make up for my 3 day lateness I made two sweets to send. First I made Russian Caramels that I blogged about last time. They take a while to make but really simple and delicious.
Next I made watermelon ice. I’d never made a coconut ice before but I saw one in a candy shop recently and the lady in the shop told me she was working on a watermelon slice with green on the bottom and pinky red on the top. Well, that was just the challenge I needed.
Thankfully I’d just bought some watermelon flavouring and I had some chocolate chips (because every watermelon should have at least a few seeds, right?) and I had plenty of dessicated coconut in the pantry. The only other ingredients were a can of sweetened condensed milk and icing (confectioners) sugar. This is really easy to put together.
I know my sweets were retro and others would (and did) make fancier trendy sweets but sometimes nana recipes are really good.
- 1 395gram can sweetened condensed milk
- 4 cups dessicated coconut
- 3½ cups icing sugar
- handful of dark chocolate chips
- Watermelon flavouring
- green and red food colouring
- Add sweetened condensed milk, icing sugar, flavouring and dessicated coconut to a large bowl.
- Mix well and divide mixture in half.
- Color each half with either green or red (it will be pink)
- Press the green mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 pan or similar with your fingertips
- Press the red/pink mixture on top of the green and poke in chocolate chips for seeds.
- Smooth surface with wet fingers
- Place in the refrigerator for 4 hours and then cut into squares or rectangles.
And what did I receive? Good stuff!
From Sara at BellyRumbles I received her deep roasted almond chocolate bark in both white and milk chocolate. It didn’t last long and I had to slap fingers out of the box so I could plate and photograph it. It was that good.
Next I received some chocolate drizzled honeycomb from Cath at Confessions of a Glutton. It was a lovely package of sweet goodness sent in a reusable storage container. Win on two levels!
Finally I received three packages from Shez at One Bite More. The spicy kick in the Black Gold Bars was new in sweets for me but very intriguing I must say. The pepper in the caramels also woke me up!
To the admins in the Sweet Swap, Sara from Bellyrumbles.com and Amanda from Chewtown.com, thanks for organising this event. As well as swapping some mighty good sweets, the Sweet Swap raised money for the charity Child Fund Australia. Thanks also to the other bloggers who spent time making their creations for us to share.
What a GREAT cause and GREAT creation Maureen, true!
Didn’t know about watermelon flavoring, so thank you for allowing me to learn something new!
WISH I could come through the screen and take a small bite?
Based on your recipe and photo, I can already TELL they are a delight!
Cheers! Joanne
These are just so sweet, what a wonderful reinvention of the retro! All hail nana recipes 4evz. Really great job.
Hi Alana. I AM a nana so it sort of worked out that way. 🙂
I’m so glad my sweets arrived without too much of a delay! Your watermelon ice looks so inviting – it would be fantastic at a kid’s birthday party.
Hi Shez and thank you!
Thanks Maureen for not one but two treats they were enjoyed by not just me but the whole family.
How absolutely pretty are these coconut ice? So eye-catching and I’ll be sure to remember this recipe for a party or high tea afternoon. I’m curious about the Russian Caramels too as I think it might be like the Polish fudge I have every now and then from our local German butcher. Love to be able to make my own supply 🙂
Cute little watermelon candies Maureen. And the other sweets – oh dear me…
It’s a good thing it happens once a year 🙂
Those watermelon ices looks so cool! Great job with them – they look almost too pretty to eat. But of course that wouldn’t stop me – they’d be gone in a hurry! 😉
It was a good thing I gave them all away
This is a brilliant sweet treat for such a great cause, I so want to sign up! 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
please do it next year, Uru!
How pretty, it looks just like biting into fresh watermelon!
It tastes pretty coconutty 🙂
Agree with Laura above, looks just like fresh watermelon slices.
it was fun to make
These are so cute and pretty! I love watermelon and it’s brilliant to make them into ice. Great post Maureen!
Thanks so much, Anne!
What a lovely round up of sweets and that watermelon ice is really cool (pardon the pun). I am absolutely smitten with your Russian Caramels and if I weren’t so afraid I would be the only one eating them (hubby not a fan of caramel) I would make them right away.
John doesn’t like caramel either. John’s dad, however, will eat anything that has sugar in it. As I was trimming off the edges he was eating them. 🙂
Oh goodness, I’d forgotten all about Russian Caramels – that takes me back to school fete days and the always popular cake stall. I had to learn how to make toffees and sweet things quite early so that we could contribute as my mother wasn’t really inclined to. And your coconut ice looks divine.
Thanks, Amanda. I’d never heard of Russian Caramels until last year and this was the first time I’ve tried making them. Probably not very fancy in the big scheme of things. 🙂
Oh, I love coconut ice and watermelon sounds interesting. I stumbled upon your blog and what a pretty sight. Love your blog name;)
Thanks so much, Ash and I’m really pleased to meet you! I hope we meet again soon.
What a fun swap. These are adorable.
I’d never been involved in a swap before. I learned a lot. 🙂
What a wonderful way to create and share.. all for a great cause! I love your sweets, I think the watermelon design is just unreal! You’re so talented, Maureen!
Oh I don’t see myself as clever at all. A woman made a suggestion and I gave it a try.
I never heard of coconut ice nor watermelon ice…they sure look so cute and from what I can see from the ingredients these must taste great…condensed milk and coconut…yum!
Thanks for the recipe Maureen and have a great week 😀
Thanks, Juliana, you too!
Brilliant! Yep, you’re right; watermelon should have seeds, I’m yet to taste the seedless variety that is as sweet and delicious as the orginal.
Your slice here certainly looks sweet and delicious 😉
Someone wrote and told me I was supposed to knock off the top knot of the chocolate chips before kneading them in and they’d look more seed-like. 🙂
Sara kindly invited me to join the Sweet Swap but I felt so overloaded that I feared I wouldn’t get anything made on time. It’s such a great idea and I love your retro/nana sweets. That watermelon ice is a touch of brilliance xx
I did worry about that and I was right to. 🙂
Nana sweets are the best! You were rather lucky too. Oh how I love almonds with chocolate!
Sara’s chocolate was really good.
Then entire assortment of sweets would be a taste treat …maybe in a nice box. A girl can dream, can’t she? 🙂
I too have never heard of or tasted watermelon flavouring.
Yummy!
🙂
I am suddenly craving sugar! What a great selection of sweet snacks, and what a great watermelon ice. We clearly need an American to think of these great variations on the classic because it’s never occurred to me to do a watermelon variety!
LOL I will admit (and did admit) that a woman in a candy shop mentioned she was thinking of trying it.
I’ve never had watermelon ice before but it sounds sooo delicious! May I ask where you bought the flavouring from? I absolutely love melon flavoured treats and would love to make these at home 🙂
I used LorAnne Oils and they’re from the US but available all over the world and even on Amazon.
Watermelon ice. This is a first for me. How inventive! They look great and I bet they were very well-received. This Sweet Swap was a wonderful idea for a worthy cause — and you were on the receiving end of some mighty tasty chocolates, to boot. Sounds like a winning idea, to me. 🙂
I got good stuff! It’s just fun to connect with other bloggers.
That sounds wonderful and ever so refreshing! This Sweet Swap is a terrific idea.
Cheers,
Rosa
I’m looking forward to doing another sweet swap 🙂
Wow! The watermelon ice really does it.
Can’t wait for summer in WA!
I can’t wait for summer in Queensland 🙂
Mmm I’d love some of that watermelon ice right now! It sounds very special indeed 😀 What is the best watermelon flavouring to buy?
I use LorAnne Oils and you can get them in good cooking shops or on Amazon. They have all sorts of delightful flavours.
Nana sweets are fun! These look so good Maureen and I’d say you made up for your lateness if I was the recipient! 🙂
We know how much fun it is to make nana sweets with the grands!
It is 6:25 a.m. here….and now I want these for breakfast – these are the REAL Breakfast of Champions!
Oh my! Gotta run. Drooling all over my keyboard.
lol @ breakfast of champions
I love sweetened coconut desserts. These look extremely cute and such a great idea. We make something similar to this in India which is called Coconut Burfi.
I like the name burfi 🙂
What decadence! What a fun swap! You can tell everyone took such care making their sweets. Although probably a good thing it happens only once in a while 🙂
I know.. and to get them all at once. I did my duty and ate them 🙂
Simple, sweet, clearly delicious… and very very cute! Kids would love to make this dessert.
Great fun exchange idea, too.
🙂
Valerie
I know! I need to find some kids.
LOVE the idea of this…YUM!
I had fun making them 🙂 I think if I did it again I’d use a baguette pan and make them watermelon shaped.
I’m like a kid in a candy shop! What a choice of delicious homemade treats! Great idea to do the watermelon ice, Maureen. Creative lady!
You probably knew what they were! 🙂
I admit I thought them to be a frozen treat; wonder why they are called ice? Albeit very cute ice. 🙂
I think it’s a UK/Australian thing 🙂 Everyone here knew what they were.
Oh wow! I’ve never had watermelon ice before, looking forward to giving it a try sometime! =]
I hope you like it!
So very cute indeed! From reading the comments it looks like I’m not the only one who would like to know about the watermelon flavouring please Maureen 🙂
It’s LorAnne Oils and I got mine at the How to Cook store in Maroochydore but you can get them on Amazon and other places too. I really like the pina colada in ice cream. 🙂
For some reason, watermelon does not agree wit me. BUT, with the coconut flavouring and added chocolate chips from your recipe, I bet this recipe could definitely go down well in my stomach!
This is just watermelon flavoring so you might be able to make this without any trouble 🙂
i have got to try those caramels and the watermelon ice! Wow, how delicious and creative and clever
So clever, Maureen. Your watermelon ice with chocolate chip seeds looks so cute. Retro or not – perfect for a celebration of sweets. Kudos for the contributions to children’s charity =)
Thanks!
What a lovely idea. I’ve been reading all these sweet swap posts and I am incredibly jealous 🙂 Your watermelon ice is a fabulous twist on such a classic!
I’m still thinking about the hooley dooley sausages!
I love retro anything!
It is so comforting to have some old fashion goodness. I don’t know that the watermelon coconut ice falls into the retro category though as it has had an amazing revamp!
Well done!
This is gorgeous, I bet you had some happy recipients 🙂
I never knew coconut ice when I lived my life as an American 🙂
Dear Maureen, I love retro!! These are the best recipes . Blessings dear. Catherine xo
Watermelon ice? Even better than I was expecting when I clicked through to the link! Inspired as always Maureen.
Thank you, Ma’am. 🙂
Watermelon ice! Never heard of it. At first I thought you were talking about frozen watermelon juice, then I saw sweetened condensed milk. Definitely not what I thought, but…any treat that has sweetened condensed milk has my vote! 🙂 Being a huge watermelon fan, I know I would love these! What delicious treats to share and the treats you received look fabulous as well! What a fun swap!
I wasn’t sure what it was at first either. All Australians knew what a coconut ice is – except me.
These are brilliant. I love how festive they look… my kids would enjoy these. 🙂
These would be fun for kids to make
Oooh, I haven’t had coconut ice in years, though I do find it a little on the sweet side so I usually don’t eat more than a few nibbles at a time. The watermelon ice looks delightful, and so many sweet treats in this post! Great cause!
ALL sound amazing!!!!
I LOVE the idea of watermelon ice. They look spectacular! Thank so much for taking park in the first Sweet Swap!
It was a lot of fun. My sister was visiting from the states, I was involved in a blogging workshop and my regular job and blog – I was a bit under the gun. I’d do it again! Thanks for stopping by, Amanda.
I love the watermelon ice! So cute. I went through a phase when I was a teenager when I was obsessed with all things watermelon. I would have loved a packet of these. 🙂
I’ve also never come across watermelon flavouring before. Seems like an interesting thing to keep in the cupboard!
I bought several LorAnne oils. In addition to the watermelon I got pina colada, licorice (ice cream coming), apple and some others but I forgot which others. 🙂 They are under $5 each.
Okay this recipe is too much fun, and looks so delicious!!! What a great recipe for a summer bbq:-) I love that you enjoyed your first swap, how fun! All the treats looks really delicious:-) Hugs, Terra
it was a lot of fun, Terra!
Love the description of the different caramels! Such fun flavors!