Desserts: Candy

Another recipe to enhance your reading of the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mysteries...

The Islands of Hawai'i offer a multi-cultural lifestyle that embraces far more than the regions of pan-Pacifica! Workers from Portugal and Scotland joined those who may be more familiar to you, who came from China, Japan, and the Philippines. This sweet treat for your next Pā’ina comes to you from my friend Roni Schack of Mililani on the island of O'ahu. I think you'll find it ideal for the end of any meal...or to add to a celebration's dessert table!

Ingredients

1 box [16 ounces] Mochiko [sweet rice flour] 

2 C. Sugar 

4 Tbs. Baking Powder  

Combine the above dry ingredients and set aside.  

5 Eggs, beaten 

1 ½ C. Milk 

1 Tsp. Vanilla  

1 Can [13.5 oz] Coconut Milk  

Combine the above liquid ingredients in a large bowl.   

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Put ½ C. Butter [1 cube] in a 9 x 13-inch cake pan and place in preheating oven until melted. Swish melted butter to coat sides of pan. Combine dry ingredients with liquid and mix until blended. Stir in half of the melted butter. Add the remaining butter and thoroughly mix. 

Pour batter into the cake pan and bake for one hour. Allow mochi to cool thoroughly before cutting into squares.   

Note

For easier cutting, use a plastic knife.  

Garnish

You might enjoy decorating with toasted coconut and/or finely chopped macadamia nuts...or perhaps edible flowers   

​Storage

You may refrigerate leftovers for a few days.  

Roni Schack is currently the office manager of the O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization. Formerly, she was a branch operations manager for Liberty Bank, which eventually merged with Bank of America. For many years we enjoyed visiting when I stopped in to make a deposit or withdrawal. For millennials, this vocabulary may seem odd. But prior to the Internet, most financial transactions took place in person rather than on-line.  After a while, Roni and I met at celebrations of holidays and other special occasions when I learned about changes in her career and the growth of daughters Rachel and Natalie. My last physical memory of her was when she and her husband chef Ed attended our farewell party at our town home in Temple Valley on the windward side of O`ahu. Our continuing dialogue was achieved through holiday greetings we have exchanged since my move to Tucson. Imagine my surprise when I received a note from her via the Contact page on my author website announcing she had enjoyed reading Prospect for Murder, the first of the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mysteries. [No, my protagonist Natalie is not named for her daughter Natalie].

Here is a simple but luscious chocolate desert that will leave your family and friends wanting more than one serving...so you may want to buy enough ingredients for two batches!  

Ingredients 

8 Ounces (1 stick) Butter 10 Ounces (1 bag) Semisweet Chocolate Chips 

10 Ounces (1 bag) of Mini Marshmallows 

1/2 Cup Macadamia Nuts, chopped  

Preparation 

Melt butter in a saucepan.  Add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool without hardening. Fold in marshmallows and nuts 

Pour into square pan lined with wax paper and freeze. 

Remove from freezer and let stand 10 – 15 min before cutting into squares.  

Serve on a festive plate with or without a sprinkling of nuts or powdered sugar and enjoy!  

This recipe arrives from the kitchen of Carol Blonder, host of Networking Arizona, a daily drive time prime time radio show in Phoenix, Arizona, on KFNX 1100AM. The lively host interviews guests from a wide spectrum of business and art professionals who answer her fast-paced questions about their lives and work. We met telephonically when she called to invite me to chat with her at the beginning of the Covid 19 Pandemic. I look forward to the next time we are able to visit about a return to live literary events in the Southwest, and in Hawai'i, the setting for the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mysteries. To learn about this dynamic woman, her show and her guests, visit www.NetworkingArizona.net. As Carol always says, “Networking…it makes a difference!”  

Here is a simple snack or dessert for your next social gathering.  Like the other Island-themed foods I'm sharing with you, I encourage you to be creative with its ingredients to shape a tasty treat that meets the needs of your unique palette!  This recipe is another culinary inspiration from Caroline Farias, who was a special friend and the subject of Conversations with Caroline Kuliaikanu'ukapu Wilcox DeLima Farias, a print and audio book I am shaping to present the seven oral history interviews I conducted between 1992 and 1993. You can  learn more about the project on the page offered on the above menu...

INGREDIENTS

​1/2     Cup of passion fruit pulp 

​           [You can substitute another fruit if you wish...]
2 1/2  Cups dry shredded coconut
Chopped walnuts or pecans, or slivered almonds

             [Sufficient to meet your desired balance for taste and appearance]
​

​PREPARING THE PULP

Peel and chop fresh passion fruit or other fruit.  Press through  a coarse sieve to remove seeds.

MIXING AND SHAPING YOUR FRUIT BALLS

​Combine fruit pulp with  about two-thirds of the confectioner's sugar.  Beat mixture until the texture is creamy. Add one half of the coconut and sufficient additional sugar to form a soft ball.
 

GARNISHING YOUR FRUIT BALLS
Roll candy balls into shredded coconut and place in a lightly buttered baking dish or pan. Top each ball with nut meats.
 

Allow candy to harden at least 8 hours in a cool place.  Once the balls have hardened sufficiently, plastic wrap can be placed over the pan which can then be placed in the refrigerator.

​​I never sampled this recipe at Carol's home, but I can picture her offering it to her daughters and grandchildren as an after-school snack. Personally, I think it's a light dessert ideal for serving after a meal that might include the teriyaki chicken I offer on another page, as well as your own favorite barbecued feast! ​