Coconut Flakes

[LaraLooooo]

I am planning on making a cake with a whipped cream-type frosting, and want to cover it with coconut flakes. The flakes I bought are unsweetened, they're the big flaky kind, as opposed to just being shredded, and they're NOT toasted. My question is... do I need to toast them? I know that toasting brings out the flavor, but would it have enough flavor without being toasted?

 

[Winterybella]

Welcome @LaraLooooo. Sadly, I cannot give you a definitive answer but I am guessing that a light toast might not hurt. I am honestly just guessing as the only one I have worked with was the sweetened kind. Hopefully a veteran will along and give you a solid answer.

 

[rz3300]

I would think that you can go ahead and do a test run. I hope that toasting them would not cause you lose anything, but you want to be careful, so I would say give it a try and see how they turn out and then go from there.

 

[Corzhens]

Now I've got a name for our grated coconut - coconut flakes. Maybe what you are pointing at is the grated coconut that we cook for dessert. I guess that's a pretty good for toppings. If you want it toasted, I suggest you cook it in a pan of water and sugar so it will come out flavored already. Cook it in the pan until the coconut flakes become brown and sticky... don't stop, lower the fire and cook until the stickiness disappears. There you go, that's your topping of toasted coconut flakes.

 

[Panadeiro]

It's all up to you, if you want to toast them then just go ahead, it probably will look better as well as it might look worse, try toasting a little bit and try out.

 

[Zyni]

If you toast them, you'll have to do it lightly if you don't want them to brown.

I use the sweetened ones when I decorate with them. I use them as is. Looks great on top of a white cake. The last one I made like that was solid white through and through, except for a fanned strawberry on top. It was so pretty.

 

[Becky]

Do a taste test! Coconut flakes are easy to toast in the oven - just spread them out on a baking tray and pop them in for a few minutes. You could do it with a small amount and see what you think

Personally I prefer them toasted - plus they look nicer too.

 

[Diane Lane]

I use the unsweetened in recipes that call for them, but I keep both on hand because I tend to use the sweetened flakes more. I have toasted them in a pan...you don't need any oil, just low to medium heat, and be sure to keep moving them around. They come out yummy, and are nice to eat as is, or you can sprinkle them in yogurt, mix them with fruit, etc. As far as topping a cake with them, it depends on whether you want it to be all white, in which case you wouldn't toast them, but if you don't mind a little color, I'd probably toast them.

 

[Winterybella]

If you toast them, you'll have to do it lightly if you don't want them to brown.

I use the sweetened ones when I decorate with them. I use them as is. Looks great on top of a white cake. The last one I made like that was solid white through and through, except for a fanned strawberry on top. It was so pretty.

I sprinkled the sweetened I bought on some scones and it was a nice touch. It added some sweetness to my scones which was great considering the scone was not too sweet. I was just experimenting and they were nice. I agree with testing.