Honey Coconut Cider Marinade

Honey Coconut Cider Marinade
1 cup liquid (or melted) coconut oil
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Whisk all ingredients together well. Keep in mind the coconut oil will harden if this marinade is refrigerated, so I like to keep it in a warm place in the kitchen when in use. If it does solidify, the marinade can be gently heated to thin it out. I like to pour it into a squeeze bottle and drizzle it on items shortly before cooking. This marinade works well with fish and vegetables. It is a sweeter marinade which will not overwhelm delicate fish. 

Deconstructed Banoffee Pie

This random dessert creation is the result of me being given four ingredients: chocolate, sugar, bananas, and sweetened condensed milk. My first thought was - banoffee pie! But to make it quicker, easier, and more interesting I made a deconstructed version. 

Components
Chocolate banana mousse
Dark chocolate sand
Dulce de leche ganache
Coconut cream
Chocolate caramel salted pretzels
Chocolate caramel candies

I chose to plate it in a shallow bowl, with a base of chocolate banana mousse, dulce de leche ganache swirled in a circle, dark chocolate sand sprinkled in the center of the bowl, coconut cream on top, and chocolate caramel salted pretzels and candies randomly around.

Vegan Carrot Cake with Broiled Coconut Icing

Vegan Carrot Cake
2 cups grated carrot
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup oil
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated (white) sugar 
3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
spices, as desired 1-3 teaspoons: ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
Topping
1 cup coconut butter
1 cup sweetener of choice
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch rectangular (or two 8 or 9 inch round or square pans) with parchment paper. 
Mix together the carrot, applesauce, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar, then the remaining dry ingredients. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan(s).
Bake for 20-30 minutes until cake tests clean. No need to cool before topping.
Topping: Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the sweetener. Spread evenly over the cake, sprinkle with coconut, and brown under the broiler until golden. Serve warm or cool.

Substitution Notes:
Cake
- For a healthier cake, replace the oil with additional applesauce or other fruit or vegetable puree, or even a nut butter.
- Change the flour to a whole wheat, spelt, oat, nut, or gluten free flour. This should not affect the rising in this recipe.
- Replace the sugar with dates, maple syrup, or another natural sweetener. Or use coconut sugar to amp up the coconut flavor.
- Change up the flavors of the spices and vanilla extract.
- Stir in some dried fruit, chopped nuts, or chocolate chips as desired.
Topping
- The sweetener depends upon how sweet you would like the topping, and cake overall, to be. A granulated sugar will add a gritter texture than a liquid sugar.
- Try using coconut flakes instead, and use more or less as desired. Mix in some chopped nuts as well, if desired.

Bunny Butt Cake

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Every year for Easter I make a decorated cake. I have done a white bunny, brown bunny, chick, basket, and egg. I always like to do a different design. I didn't have a lot of time this year, as I was busy cooking practice meals for competitions, so I went with a simpler design. I have seen this as a cake and cupcake design before and always wanted to try it.

It is a 'bunny butt cake'. Some versions have the bunny diving into a basket of candy or into some icing 'grass'. I chose just to keep my cake as a bunny. To make this, I made a standard two-layer size vegan chocolate cake recipe, baked in an eight inch round bowl, and three cupcakes (I actually made six cupcakes but reserved the other three for a different use). 

Ideally, I would have frosted the cake completely in white or brown icing to make either a white or brown bunny. But I didn't really have time to frost the sides of the bunny, and decided to go with a 'transition' bunny look - transitioning from a white winter bunny to the a  brown summer bunny.

I also made a new type of vegan icing - maple cashew, and because of the maple syrup it turned out a tan-color. 

I then dusted the entire cake with shredded coconut. The ears are just made of paper - I tried forming cupcake ears, but that didn't work either, and every version I say online used paper ears or didn't have ears at all.

Sweet Potato Custard

Sweet Potato Coconut Custard + Cranberry Hazelnut Granola + Maple Syrup Reduction + Melon Pearls + Pickled Chutney + Microgreens

Sweet Potato Coconut Custard
450 grams sweet potato, baked with skin on until tender, then peeled and puréed
400mL canned coconut milk
2-4 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 Tablespoons agar agar

Whisk the warm sweet potato purée and milk together in a small saucepan. Whisk in the syrup and agar agar. Bring to a boil over gentle heat, stirring often. Allow to boil for a minute or two until slightly thickened. Pour into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (size depends upon how thick or thin you would like your custard to be). Chill until set, in the freezer if you would like it to set faster. Cut into desired shapes while still firm, and allow to soften and come to room temperature to serve. Can be stored refrigerated or frozen.

Layered Chocolate Coconut Cups

This is an easy, attractive and tasty vegan dessert I came up with - layering the delicious flavors of chocolate and coconut, with pleasing layered textures. They can be made in regular or mini-sized muffin cups. 

Layered Chocolate Coconut Cups
3 Tablespoons melted coconut butter 

1/4 cup tahini
2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 Tablespoons agave or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil
1 Tablespoon melted coconut butter
2 Tablespoons agave or maple syrup
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
shredded coconut

Line a 12-hole muffin tin with silicone liners.
Place a scant teaspoon of melted coconut butter in the bottom of each liner, tilting it to cover the entire bottom. Place in the freezer.

Blend together the tahini, oil, agave, and vanilla until smooth. Place about a tablespoon in each muffin cup and smooth it out. Freeze. 

Blend together the oil, butter, agave, and cocoa until smooth. Place about a teaspoon in each muffin cup and smooth over the filling. Sprinkle with coconut. Freeze.

This easily store in the freezer, and only need to stand at room temperature for a couple of minutes before eating. They can also be served at room temperature, but will become quite soft. A different nut or seed butter can be substituted; sunflower seed butter would be good, others may add stronger flavors. 

Apricot Almond Coconut Balls

Apricot Almond Coconut Balls
2 cups dried apricots
1 cup blanched almonds
2 cups toasted coconut
2 Tablespoons julienned fresh basil
pinch cayenne pepper
splash hot sauce
crushed pistachios (peeled)
sea salt
garnish, such as a beet chip, optional

In a small saucepan, cover the apricots with water and bring to a boil. Simmer gently until apricots are softened, drain well, and cool. Add apricots to a food processor with almonds, coconut, basil, cayenne, and hot sauce. Pulse until well combined and no large chunks remain. Roll into small balls (chill first if mixture is too stick). Sprinkle or roll balls with pistachios mixed with the salt, and place garnish on top. Refrigerate until serving. Keeps very well refrigerated or frozen, and does not become too sticky at room temperature.

This is a quick, easy to make, easy to serve hors d'oeuvre recipe I came up with. It makes approximately  dozen small balls. If you want them as a dessert, omit the basil, cayenne, and hot sauce, and add a little cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup. These are very healthy, little vegan energy bites - a great, bright, kind alternative to bacon-wrapped scallops or deviled eggs. If you prefer, the mixture can be pressed into a pan, briefly frozen, and cut into energy bars!

Chocolate Coconut Milk Fudge

Chocolate Coconut Milk Fudge
1 can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated upside-down overnight
2 Tablespoons coconut oil, liquid
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup icing sugar
coconut, shredded or flaked, if desired

Scoop out all of the solid cream from the coconut milk. If you don't have much, take some of the thicker liquid as well. Then whip it with an electric mixer to thicken it up. Stir in remaining ingredients. Judge the consistency, you may want to add more cocoa for a darker, less sweet fudge, more icing sugar for a thicker and sweeter fudge, or more coconut milk if your fudge is too thick. You can stir in coconut, or sprinkle on top. Freeze until firmer. This is a freezer fudge, meaning you store it in the freezer and eat it straight from the freezer. The coconut milk retains it from freezing hard as a rock, and it gets too soft just refrigerated. 

Spiced Nut Cracker App

 The Full Name: Spiced Nut Cracker with Coconut Herb Crema, Pickled Apricots, Beetroot Chip, Toasted Coconut, Crisp Parsley, and Cayenne Dust.

Yeah, that is a lot going on in one little hors d'oeuvre. This is an idea I came up, combining several different flavors, colors, and textures. They compliment and contrast each other for a pleasing bite on the palate. Here is a closer look at the components: 

Spiced Nut Cracker: From yesterday's post, cut out in flower shapes
Coconut Herb Crema: Coconut cream blended with minced herbs
Pickled Apricots: Dried apricots cooking in pickling liquor and halved
Beetroot Chips: Thinly sliced, dried out beets
Toasted Coconut: Oven-toasted coconut
Crisp Parsely: Deep-fried parsley sprigs
Cayenne Dust: Sieved cayenne pepper

R2D2 Cake

As you may be able to tell from the patches of cake not-so-covered in frosting, this is not my proudest cake accomplishment. But I won't consider it a total fail either. Here is some back story to it:

I make my boyfriend an elaborate, appropriately-themed birthday cake every year (this is the fifth one). This year, I had been planning to make an R2D2 (a 'resourceful astromech droid' from Star Wars) cake, for awhile; even before the big hype for the release of the latest Star Wars film. I had looked at several different designs - one of them just the relative shape from a 9x13 inch rectangular cake and one used a 9x13 inch rectangular cake as the base, with half a nine inch round cake as the head, and some extra side pieces. These two dimensional designs looked pretty neat, but I then came across a three dimensional design that used several layers of six inch round stacked cakes, a six inch dome cake for the very top, and a 9x13 inch rectangular cake for the arms and extra pieces. I knew after upgrading from a 2-D to a 3-d cake last year (an army tank cake), I had to continue the theme - I couldn't go back to 3-D. The design seemed simple enough, I was just slightly concerned with stability. Also, that was a lot of cake - so I scaled back the design to be slightly smaller, doubling my batch of cake to make two 9x13 inch rectangles.

I always ask for my boyfriend's input on his cakes, and he usually likes a surprise for the design, knowing I will come up with something cool, but this year he requested the flavor. He asked for a chocolate raspberry cake, and because I had been experimenting with a lot of vegan baking lately, he wanted it to be vegan. Easy enough, I whipped up a recipe and it turned out great. The icing was a whole different story. I could have easily made a faux buttercream using either vegetable shortening (gross) or vegan margarine, but I was trying to make a naturally vegan icing, and I also wanted it coconut flavored. I made what I thought was a yummy icing, but then assembly time came.

I froze the cakes briefly to make them easier to work with, then cut them and froze them again while snacking on the scrap pieces that confirmed this was one delicious cake. I had made the icing in advance to give it time to firm up in the fridge. I coated the individual pieces with a crumb coat, and chilled them to set it. Then I tried to put the pieces together and add more coats of icing to cover. The problem was, even after adding more icing sugar to make the icing quite thick, the icing just kept sliding off the cake. It seemed to stick, only to slide off a few minutes later. It was very strange. I am figuring it must be my new icing recipe, as I usually stick to my regular buttercream. It's hard enough to complete incase a dark chocolate cake with white frosting, but add a frosting that doesn't stick, and you've got a problem. I even tried piping the icing on in lines, which seemed to work but it still slid off later. At least the pieces were sticking together, so I covered it as best as I could, added some vegan meringue 'buttons' and piped some blue frosting on as well for details. I crumbled extra meringue, dusted it with cocoa powder, and placed it at the bottom to make some dirt from the planets. And with my leftover cake scraps, I managed to make some other Star Wars themed characters (using chocolate icing that did not slide), which I will share in another post.

The cake didn't turn out how I wanted, but it did stay in one piece, hold it's shape, and taste delicious. I will definitely have to make another R2D2 cake in the future, with a different frosting, to make the details more accurate and have it look pure white. A white fondant covering would definitely be ideal, though I am not a fan of the stuff. Nevertheless, taste is most important right? At least that's what the birthday boy told me. 
Happy Birthday my love! :)

Lemon Coconut Cream Filling

Lemon Coconut Cream Filling
1 can (400ml) full-fat coconut milk
juice and zest of one large lemon
1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 drop almond extract
1 drop vanilla extract

Place the can of coconut milk upside down in the refrigerator overnight. This will cause the fat to separate out - leaving a layer of semi-solid, creamy white coconut fat, and a layer of watery liquid. If you forget to do this or don't have time - you can speed up the process by placing the can in the freezer. Just don't leave it there for longer than a couple of hours or you will end up with a rock-solid block of fat. Sometimes you can get the layer of fat without chilling the can first, but this will yield much less fat.

 Open the can and scoop off the solid fat on top, leaving the liquid and reserving for another use. This can be used for flavorful smoothies, vegan mac and cheese sauces, baked goods, or any other application requiring non-dairy milk, but not non-dairy thick cream. If you place this liquid back in the fridge, it will even thicken a bit as well.

You will need around 1/2 cup of solid fat. Add the remaining ingredients; you can add more or less maple syrup and more or less lemon zest for desired flavor. Mixture will thin out slightly, but will thicken upon chilling. 

Pour into parfait glasses or small bowls, prepared crust, between cake layers, or in desired application. Chill until firm, or freeze to firm it up faster. 

Wild Berry Tarts

A stunning, colorful, individual-sized  wild berry tartlet featuring four juicy berry flavors, lemon, coconut, cream, and almonds!

This is a fruit tart I made as my first creation and my first lunch for the New Year. My boyfriend has been hinting at me for awhile about fruit tarts with lots of berries, and I was excited to finally make one. I will definitely make another version in the summer time when fresh berries are in season, but considering I used frozen berries, this fruit tart turned out pretty darn good. Despite being composed of 0% chocolate and 100% vegan ingredients. It's also chock-full of fruit and nuts, no-bake, gluten-free, and dare I say, healthy?

Components
CRUST (almond cookie crust)
FILLING (lemon coconut cream filling)
TOPPING (four berry compote)
GARNISH (berries)
GLAZE (maple syrup)

Procedure
Prepare the crust and press into two four inch tart pans or miniature aluminum pie plates. Freeze to firm up while preparing filling.

Prepare the filling and pour over the crusts. You can now refrigerate this until firm or freeze it so it firms up within hours. I recommend freezing, especially if you just made the crust, because if the crust is not fully set, it will become too soft in the fridge. Freezing for longer does not seem to affect the texture of the coconut milk in the cream filling.

Prepare the berry compote. Ideally cool the compote completely and chill it first, but if you are short on time like me, you can spoon it straight over the partially set cream filling and smooth it out as best as possible. It may make the filling melt a little, but it will be fine once you pop it back in the freezer. Alternately, chill it in the fridge.

Take the pretty whole berries set aside from the compote and arrange them artistically on the tarts. You want to keep the berries frozen until ready to use because they are too soft to work with (without smushing them) when thawed. However, you don't want to serve a tart with frozen berries, so keep in mind this must be done a little before serving time to allow them to thaw. The tarts can also be placed back in the freezer after topping with the berries if they are being held longer.

Heat a little maple syrup in the microwave for thirty seconds or so and brush over the fruit on top to make it shine. The tarts can be frozen again if you want to hold them, held in the refrigerator briefly, or if you plan to serve them very soon, left at room temperature to warm up a bit before eating. If frozen for more than a few hours, gently place in a container or cover with plastic wrap.

Serving
Gently unmold the tarts from the pans and place on plates. I find this is really easy if you line the tart pans with plastic wrap before filling with the crust mixture - then the tarts simply lift straight out! You can add other garnishes such as lemon wedges, toasted coconut, chocolate sauce, or (coconut) whipped cream, but I like to let these fruit tarts shine on their own.

Planning these ahead and serving them can be slightly tricky. The crust can be made as far in advance as you wish, as long as you have your dates soaked - so I recommend doing this at least the day before to ensure a less soggy crust.

The coconut custard firms up much better in the freezer and causes the crust to become a bit soggy if left for too long at lower temperatures.

The berries place don top of the tart should be done as closely to serving as possible, still allowing enough time for them to thaw out, though I did have success with freezing the tart like this as well.

Glaze the berries last minute for optimum shine.

Ideally thaw frozen tarts only 6-14 hours before serving, and allow to come to room temperature to serve. Do not freeze for longer than a few days, and do not leave at room temperature. This will ensure optimum flavors and textures.

Black Cake Coconut Custard Trifle

Black Cake Coconut Custard Trifle = leftover black cake + leftover rum-soaked fruit + leftover coconut caramel custard.

Steps
1. Tear the cake into bite-sized pieces
2. Place in bottom of a small decorative bowl.'
3. Drizzle with dark rum and sprinkle with rum-soaked fruit.
4. Top with coconut caramel custard.
5. Garnish with additional rum-soaked fruit and macadamia nuts.
6. Serve!

Banana Erccherry

Banana Erccherry
4 bananas or 2 large plantains, peeled and sliced
water, to cover
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1 red chili pepper
2 green chili peppers
4 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

In a small saucepan, bring the bananas, water, tumeric, and salt to a boil, cook until just soft. Purée. Add remaining ingredients and purée until smooth. Add more oil if you want a thinner consistency. Serve at room temperature.

I am not sure exactly how to describe this dish. It is kind of made in the way of a fruit compote, with a lot of added spice, but it's consistency is more like a spread such as hummus. This is a bright green condiment that definitely has a kick to it. I even left the seeds in the peppers. You can tone down the spice, or add sugar for something sweeter. 

Caramel Coconut Custard

Caramel Coconut Custard
400mL coconut milk
2 cups dulche de leche 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon water
1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
1/4 cup shredded coconut


In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk, dulche de leche, and vanilla until lightly boiling and thickened. Whisk together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry, then add in. Heat until thickened, then remove from heat, stir in the nuts, and cool. Chill until firm.

For a really interesting presentation, pour warm custard into a large, flat tray, then freeze briefly. Once semi-solid, but not hard as a rock, cut out unique shapes using a metal cookie cutter, place on a flat tray and freeze again to firm up. use to garnish desserts, allow the custard to reach room temperature to eat.

Peanut Soup

Peanut Soup
oil
1/2 large white onion, finely diced
2 large stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, finely diced
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 stalk lemongrass, sliced
1 red chili pepper, diced
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
4 cups vegetable broth
3 cups coconut milk
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
sliced green onions, for garnish
shelled peanuts, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the vegetables and allow to sweat (no color) until softened slightly. Stir in the lemongrass, chili, and cornstarch. Stir in remaining ingredients, Bring to a boil, then simmer lightly until thickened and vegetables are softened. You can make this thicker or thinner by reducing further or adding more broth.

If you haven't tried peanut soup, you definitely should! It may not sound the most appetizing, but if you are a peanut butter lover, you will love this savory take on it. It is filling and leftovers make a nice sauce as well. 

Coconut Molasses Spice Bars

Coconut Molasses Spice Bars
1/2 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line a 9x13 inch rectangular pan.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, then the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the remaining ingredients, mixing well. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
Bake for about 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

These squares are a fine, not-too-sweet, easy to eat spicy treat eaten as is, but becomes something special when frosted with a simple icing - vanilla glaze, cream cheese, maple frosting, or even chocolate fudge frosting.

Coconut Cream Easter Nests

Here are some little Easter basket desserts I made. I have often seen ideas for Easter basket cupcakes, but I didn't want cupcakes. Then I thought of coconut cream pies, since coconut seems to be a popular flavor around Easter time as well. They turned out very nicely. Miniature cheesecakes would work well with this idea too.

Coconut Cream Easter Nests
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose (plain) flour
pinch salt
3 cups milk (use coconut for more coconut flavor)
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon coconut or vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk, then bring the mixture almost to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for two minutes until thickened. Add a few spoonfuls of this hot mixture to the eggs to temper them, then slowly whisk the eggs into the mixture. Return to heat, and bring just about to a boil, then simmer for two minutes more. Remove from heat, then stir in the coconut, oil, and extract.

This can now be used as a regular coconut cream pie filling - poured into a baked shell, covered with plastic wrap, and chilled until firm.
It may be baked as a crustless coconut cream pie - pour into a greased pie dish and bake at 325◦F for about 30 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

I divided my pie filling mixture among twelve paper-lined muffin cups with an unbaked chocolate crumb crust on the bottom. I sprinkled a little extra coconut on top. Then I baked them for about 20 minutes until set.

To make Easter baskets: Cool the miniature pies, then peel off the paper linings. Place a few jelly beans, candy eggs, or chocolate eggs in the center of each. I used dried fruit to look like eggs. Pipe some melted chocolate onto parchment paper to resemble basket handles, then stick into the pies once hardened. Use white chocolate to make a few bunnies as well.

Easter Nest Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons
4 large egg whites
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups granulated (white) sugar
2 cups shredded coconut
candy Easter eggs, jelly beans, etc.

Preheat oven to 325◦F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.
Gradually add the sugar, beating to stiff peaks.
Fold in the coconut. 
Spoon tablespoons a few inches apart on prepared cookies sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes until just firm and golden.
Immediately press candies in the center as desired, then allow to cool before removing from cookie sheet.

This is a cute and really easy cookie recipe that resembles little Easter nests, depending on the type of candy you use. You could leave the centers plain, or press any type of candy, chocolate, fruit, or nut in the center to suit every occasion. Macaroons have a pleasantly crisp and chewy light texture. 

Mint Nanaimo Bars

I have always been a pretty big fan of the classic nanaimo bar. I am not sure why the combination of a nutty, chewy base, a sweet, creamy filling, and a rich chocolaty topping is so good, but it always seems to be a hit! This is one of those cases where you hesitate to mess with a good thing, but there are several yummy variations, usually involving a different flavoring in the filling such as mint, cherry, or pineapple. I also made a ‘reverse’ nanaimo bar once, where the filling was chocolate and the base and topping were vanilla. The filling can be died green to identify it as mint, if desired, but I didn’t bother with the added dye. This version is extra minty because the use of mint chocolate chips ensures a hint of mint in each layer.

Mint Nanaimo Bars

BASE

1 cup mint chocolate chips

½ cup butter or hard margarine

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup flakes coconut

FILLING

2 cups icing (confectioners’) sugar

¼ cup butter or hard margarine, softened

2 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon mint (peppermint) extract

green food coloring, optional

TOPPING

¾ cup mint chocolate chips

2 teaspoons oil

BASE: In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and butter over medium heat. Stir in the crumbs and coconut. Press firmly into a greased or lined 9x9 inch square pan. Chill.

FILLING: Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Spread evenly over base. Chill.

TOPPING: Melt chips and oil together. Spread evenly over filling. Chill until set but not too hard, then cut into bars.