Chocolates & Truffles › Coconut-Chocolate Sushi

Makes about 100 pieces & serves 25-40

For Coconut Cream:

• 1½ cups heavy cream
• ½ cup corn syrup
• 4 cups sugar
• 10 cups sweetened shredded coconut

For Ganache:

• 2 lbs chocolate
• 1 quart heavy cream

• 5 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• bowl of water for hands

1. Preheat oven to 300º
2. Spread 5 cups of shredded coconut on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, checking frequently to prevent burning. Remove and cool
3. For ganache, place 2 lbs of chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Bring 1 quart of heavy cream to a scald. Pour hot cream over chocolate and whisk until smooth
4. Divide ganache in half, allowing one part to cool to a pipeable thickness, about 1 hour in refrigerator. Place the other half over a double boiler on low to keep warm and melted until use, stirring occassionally
5. Place 10 cups of coconut in a heat-proof bowl. Combine 1½ cups of heavy cream, corn syrup and sugar in a medium saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar and slowly bring to a boil
6. Pour cream mixture over coconut in bowl. Stir until combined and allow to sit to cool for 10 minutes
7. Line 4 standard cookie sheets (or two full sheet trays) with silicone baking mats sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or buttered parchment paper (butter a sheet tray, press down parchment paper, butter top of parchment)
8. Take rested coconut-cream mixture and form 2 long rectangular strips across the length of each cookie sheet, approximately 3" in width and ¼"  in thickness. Use a bowl of water to wet hands and prevent the mixture from sticking
9. Place the cooled half of the ganache in a piping bag using a #5 tip.  Pipe a line across the center of each formed coconut rectangle
10. Place cookie sheets in freezer for about ½ hour, until ganache is firm and coconut mixture is malleable
11. Remove cookie sheets from freezer and roll rectangles as you would sushi, lengthwise, encasing the line of ganache in the coconut mixture. A bench scraper is a useful tool during this step
12. Return logs to freezer for another 15 minutes
13. Remove sushi logs from freezer and roll each log lightly with fingertips to form cylinders. Spread remaining melted ganache on a sheet tray. Coat each log in chocolate, then transfer onto the tray of cooled, toasted coconut. Roll until covered completely
14. Place logs back in the freezer for approximately 10 more minutes, remove, and slice logs into ½" pieces
15. Garnish with fresh fruit if desired, serve immediately, or keep chilled until serving