A Taste of Africa: Shuku Shuku (Nigerian Coconut Balls)

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

Make these for your sweetie pie! Now, we have to confess, we've never made these ourselves. Although, we can say with certainty that they are truly delicious. This recipe comes to us from a favourite "Auntie". We've enjoyed these special treats since we were quite little! The recipe couldn't be easier and the results are delightful! So, go on, delight your honey!

We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try.

• 1 cup of unsweetened (flaked) coconut (We buy ours at the Bulk Barn)
• 1/2 cup of self-raising flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup of superfine/caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Mix the sugar, egg yoks and the flaked coconut together. The resulting dough will be a bit stiff.
3. Pat and roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter.
4. Roll each ball in the flour
5. Place on a baking sheet about 2 inches away from each other. We like to line our baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes. Check them carefully after 15 minutes. They are done when they turn a lovely golden colour.

Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make!