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Cocadas, a coconut treat, originated in Colima, Mexico and are a staple dessert in Latin American countries. The traditional recipe includes sugar, water, and shredded coconut, but modern versions may include other flavors and thickeners. Other popular desserts in Colima include pineapple-stuffed cookies and toffee-like candy made of tamarind paste, brown sugar, and water.
Some argue that the coconut treats known as cocadas originated in the small but scenic state of Colima, on Mexico’s Pacific edge. These desserts have actually been a staple for centuries in several Latin American countries like Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. While recipes may vary by cook or region, the historic recipe calls for a simple blend of sugar, water, and shredded coconut. More modernized versions might add flavors like vanilla or almond extract, cloves and brown sugar, and might swap the water for creamier bases like coconut or condensed milk and thickeners like cornstarch.
To prepare the cocades in the traditional way, the chef will dissolve the sugar in a little boiling water. One recipe calls for 1 pound (about 450 g) of sugar for just 1 cup (about 235 mL) of water. Constantly stirring the mixture until thick, the syrup is then removed from the heat and about 450g of shredded coconut is stirred in. This pastry is then spread onto an oiled or buttered surface such as a baking sheet and then cooled to room temperature before cutting to serve.
There are many variations of this simple dessert available. A batch of cocade might contain brown sugar instead of sugar, along with cloves and cinnamon. Another cook might have used condensed milk and cornstarch instead of water, as well as almond extract, vanilla extract and powdered sugar instead of just granulated sugar. A Mexican recipe beats egg yolks and butter in water, as well as sugar and coconut. A sprinkle of cinnamon rounds out these last cocades as they cool.
Latin America is one of many regions of the world to embrace coconut as a sweet ingredient. In Thailand, for example, the same kind of flavor profile is obtained in a dessert known as ka nom ba bin. This is a stretchy coconut jelly or baked coconut bar with a slightly more complex blend of ingredients, adding not only flour, coconut milk, coconut, sugar and egg but often other ingredients such as cinnamon, chocolate chips, nuts and sunflower seeds.
In Colima, the region where cocadas supposedly originated, a handful of desserts are considered staples. Many of these center on indigenous foods such as coconut, tamarind, banana, pineapple, guava, mango, lime, and coffee. A popular treat is called alfajores de piña, which are pineapple-stuffed cookies. Other staples include candied bananas and dulce de tamarindo, a toffee-like candy made mostly of tamarind paste, brown sugar, and water.
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