Festive coconut ice with sprinkles

We made these as a contribution to our local home education group Winter party.

Here's the base recipe we used (from Festivals Family and Food) - if you're intimidated by the huge amount of sugar, the recipe can be halved to make a smaller amount!

2lbs caster sugar

quarter of a pint of milk

1oz butter

8oz dessicated coconut (I used a touch more than this)

Food colouring (optional - we like white for this time of year anyway)

Put the sugar, butter and milk in a heavy saucepan and bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 4 mins. stirring all the time. Remove from heat, add the coconut, stir well and pour half the mixture into a greased tin about 1 inch deep (I lined my tin in baking paper and it was fine without greasing). Allow to cool a little, then colour the other half and pour on top. Score when it is half set and cut when it is cool.

An added delight is to cover the top of the coconut ice - when it is cool - with melted plain chocolate.

We covered the top with milk chocolate - at Cameron's request - and added some seasonal sprinkles we found at the supermarket to make it more festive.

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