Petite Pyramid Power

From time to time, Fanny Cradock just wants to make something easy. Basic. Manageable. She often labels them 'for beginners' but she equally could say they were 'simple' or 'quick, store cupboard treats'. From time to time, that's exactly what I want to make too. This week was certainly one of those times. I've been away on holiday for a few weeks (did you miss me?) and each day since my return has been a struggle with jet-lag, not aided by the additional time changes back home. A perfect time to keep things simple.

Fanny urges that on weeks just like this, I reach for the comfort of coconut. Desiccated of course. It's something I always seem to have in the cupboard, although I'm never really very sure when I've bought it, or what I've used it for. What is it used for? It may have been nestled in there next to the tins of treacle for ever and ever, it's best not to look at the best before date at times like this, just get on wth the job in hand.

For Fanny, even the most simple of things must be elevated, and discarded coconut is no different. She suggests transforming them into Pyramids, or Les Petites Pyramides, to give them a necessary boost to their self-esteem. She adds caster sugar, vanilla and a choice of eggs to the lonely coconut. To help create the majestic pyramid shape, she adds eggs or egg whites, depending on the texture you prefer in the finished product. Whole eggs, beaten, for a close texture, and unbeaten egg whites if you like it loose and more melting.

Well, I don't know what I prefer in coconut pyramids, but it seems a shame to waste an egg yolk unnecessarily, so I go 'whole'. It's really just a case of mixing it all together. Simple. Straightforward. Uncomplicated. Well, Fanny takes it to another level as you'd imagine by adding some harmless vegetable colouring. Fanny suggests pink, or carmine to be exact, but I'm in the mood for blue, or teal to be exact, and orange personally. I blame the jet-lag. So the mixture is halved and coloured.

Fanny says you can buy 'rather comical' moulds to make the pyramids, but she scoffs at those when your very own hands are more than able to fashion a simple cone shape all by themselves. Besides, you'll only end up spending more time banging them out of the moulds afterwards than you'd ever do in making them by hand. Silly. Ludicrous. Ridiculous. Once you're happy with the shape, pop them into an oven at 350F for 15 minutes and before your very eyes, Les Petits Pyramides will appear and delight. They smell like a long-forgotten childhood memory, and taste simply stunning. So, that must be what coconut is for after all...

As the colours are an almost perfect match for the logo, coincidentally, I'm adding these to this months Treat Petite hosted by Cakeyboi and Baking Explorer. Check out the other treats here and by searching for #TreatPetite across social media.