Coconut Rocher by Rudy Chartier

COCONUT ROCHER:

150 g fine desiccated coconut
125 g sugar
75 g egg whites (2 egg whites)
A dash of milk for texture

Preheat oven to 180°C using a CircoTherm or Fan bake setting. Put baking paper onto an oven tray.

Mix the coconut, sugar and egg whites together in a bowl, and add a dash of milk if the texture is too dry.

Roll the mixture into bite sized balls, around the size of a $1 coin (but they can be made to the size you like), and place them on the baking tray.

Bake for around 12 minutes, until the coconut rochers are golden and crispy on the outside.

TIP: you can freeze them for future use and you can also use fruit compote (apple, passion fruit, etc) instead of the milk, to make them dairy free.

Rudy Chartier was born in Le Mans (the home of Pork Rillettes) in 1983, a stroll from the famous car racing track.

He moved to Nantes to study the art of cooking, then worked in various restaurants (including Michelin star restaurants) to acquire as much skills and experience as possible.

Then Rudy started to travel, and after different experiences in Switzerland, Spain and the UK, Rudy met his wife Lisa in London and they decided to move to her home town in New Zealand.

After 3 years in Wellington, Lisa and Rudy moved to the Kapiti Coast and begun trading at the Paraparaumu Beach market, then opened their shop L’amour en cage at Raumati Beach, creating the first French Patisserie on the Kapiti Coast.