Coconut Ice is the retro Australian sweet — a two-layered confection of sweetened coconut, one layer white and one pink, pressed into a tin and cut into squares. No baking required, it is the simplest of old-fashioned sweets, found at every school fete and community fundraiser across Australia for generations.
Coconut Ice is an old-fashioned Australian (and British) confection — a two-layer sweet of desiccated coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and icing sugar, one layer white and the other tinted pink with food coloring. It requires no baking, just pressing into a tin and cutting. It belongs to the tradition of 'no-bake slices' that were popular in Australian fundraising — every school fete, church bazaar, and CWA (Country Women's Association) cookbook features Coconut Ice. The pink-and-white layered appearance is iconic. It is the sweet of grandmothers and childhood memories.
A small, dense, sweet square with a distinct two-layer look — white on the bottom, pink on top. The texture is chewy and grainy from the coconut; the sweetness is intense, almost cloying (but in a good way). The coconut flavor is strong. It is the taste of a school fete, of childhood, of Australian baking simplicity.
The recipe is almost embarrassingly simple: desiccated coconut mixed with sweetened condensed milk and icing sugar, divided in half, one half tinted pink. The white layer is pressed into a lined tin, the pink layer pressed on top, and the whole is chilled until firm. The condensed milk is the binder; the coconut provides texture; the sugar provides the intense sweetness. No cooking.
Variations
Some use different colors (green, yellow); some add vanilla; some make it in one color; the coconut amount varies.
On the Palate
Where Coconut Ice sits in the Australian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
9 steps · 20 min active + 10 min waiting
- 12 min
Line a 20-cm square tin with baking paper.
- 25 min
Mix 300 g desiccated coconut, 1 can (400 g) sweetened condensed milk, and 250 g icing sugar in a bowl.
- 33 min
Divide the mixture in half.
- 42 min
To one half, add 2-3 drops pink food coloring; mix well.
- 53 min
Press the white half firmly into the tin.
Watch outPress each layer down firmly and level — loose coconut ice crumbles apart when you cut it.
- 63 min
Press the pink half on top of the white.
- 72 min
Press down firmly; smooth the surface.
- 8120 min
Chill 2 hours until firm.
Watch outChill until fully firm before cutting — cut it soft and the squares slump and lose their clean edges.
- 92 min
Cut into small squares with a sharp knife.
