Dear All,

Why, you may ask, am I posting the next Hay Hay it’s Donna Day! challenge so soon after winning the last round? Why am I not savoring the moment and kicking back with a glass of wine to celebrate? Why am I already spending hours (not really) in the kitchen working on the new challenge?

Not being one for secrets I will tell you that it’s because I miss the ‘relax’ gene, I’ve never been good at kicking, wine in Thailand is stupidly expensive, and we’re spending most of March traveling to northern Vietnam and Thailand’s Andaman coast (jealous?). So Barbara and I decided to do it sooner rather than later. Because for me, later never happens.

So here it is, your next challenge for this event that was created by the innovative and very sweet Barbara, inspired by the (as I am discovering) great Donna Hay and previously hosted by my funky Southeast Asian neighbor Joey; Coconut Chocolate Tarts from Donna’s book New Food Fast. It is a very-very-extremely simple recipe. And the ingredients are very basic and easy to get your hands on as well. Preparation time should not be too long, the thing that takes the most time is for the chocolate to set, but more about that later. The reason I chose such an easy recipe is because with simplicity, in this case, comes endless possibilities. Endless. So what I’m giving you is the opportunity to let your inner culinary artist go nuts!

Let me explain the recipe.

You need to gather:

For the shell-

2 egg whites

1/2 cup white sugar

2 cups dessicated coconut

For the filling-

1 and 1/4 cups cream

300g dark chocolate, chopped

Make:

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F).

Mix the egg whites, coconut and sugar well. Scoop the mixture into muffin tins and with wetted hands (works best this way) press it out to create a base and sides for a cup. Put into the oven at bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until it begins to lightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for one minute. Gently remove the cups from muffin tins and let it cool more.

While this is happening, heat the cream in a saucepan until almost boiling. Remove from heat and throw in the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted into the cream and you have a decadent and rich looking chocolate liquid.

Carefully, fill each cup with the liquid. Put the cups on a plate or tray in the freezer and leave it for 10 minutes or until set. When set, remove from the freezer and serve to guests with coffee or as a dessert. You’ll be an instant hit. Or be selfish and enjoy it all yourself, I know I would!

Suggestions for Coconut Chocolate Tarts:

- Although you should use muffin tins, I used paper cupcake forms and went through the whole process and only removed the paper after the chocolate has set.

- Mine took longer than ten minutes to set, but I think my freezer is not that cold.

- If you follow this recipe, you may end up with some of the chocolate liquid at the end. Either eat it all immediately or keep some to add on top of the tarts later for decoration.

- I got about 14 tarts with the regular sized cupcake forms I used.

- Be imaginative and creative! The possibilities are really endless. One can play with different ingredients, textures and flavors for the shell. And as for the fillings- go crazy. Add a bit of liqueur, chili or any other spices, use other kinds of chocolate, use nuts, dried fruits, preserves. Also, if you can be very creative with toppings and decorations. I would say you can do whatever you like, as long as you make a sweet tart in a similar format. Have fun!

Here are the dates for this challenge:

Entries should be in by March 2nd. The roundup will be posted by the 7th (same day we are flying out!) and the winner will be announced the next week from somewhere in northern Vietnam.

The winner will receive a gift from me, perhaps I will pick up something fun in Hanoi?

And here are the rules:

RULES FOR HAY HAY ITS DONNA DAY

Hay Hay Its Donna Day is open to all food and wine bloggers.

Entries submitted for HHDD must be made specifically for this event, although photos may be submitted to Does My Blog Look Good In This.

The host will select, make and post the original Donna Hay recipe without any changes. Participants may make the same recipe as is, or put their own spin on the recipe by altering the ingredients whilst remaining with the theme. Entrants must include a link to the host in their post.

Entries can be made at any time once the event has been announced but must be posted and emailed to the host by the closing date. My email address is bordeaux76@gmail.com

Good luck and enjoy.