Coconut butter

[Bedlam]

Coconut Butter

400 g dried/desiccated coconut (I prefer organic & unsweetened, but I did test the recipe using a variety of dried coconut products and it worked well with all)

Put coconut into Thermomix and set to grind for 3 minutes/37°/speed 8. (That’s it, you don’t need to add anything but the coconut.)
After about one minute, stop to remove lid and push food down from the lid and sides. Continue processing. You will notice the sound change a bit as the coconut starts to become moist and turn to butter. It’s completely possible to turn dried coconut into butter without using any heat, but I find the heat makes for a smoother consistency that is easier to process. Also, when warmed like this, it transfers more easily to jars and containers. You may want to peek again and clear the coconut from the lid, sides, and from under the blades before finishing off the process. For the smoothest coconut butter, you can crank up to speed 9 for the last 30 seconds.
Pour into a jar immediately. The butter will be almost liquid when done, but hardens as it cools. This is a stable butter that does not need refrigeration. In fact, if you do keep it in the fridge you will likely use it less, as it will get very hard — too hard for spooning. Even when stored at room temp the butter is solid and will require warming first, for certain applications. Play with it to decide what you like best.

A few more thoughts…
You can make coconut butter with any amount of desiccated coconut, but it’s best to have at least 200g in the bowl. I used the amount of 300g just to give people a starting point. Also, I haven’t tried yet, but it might be helpful to set the temperature to 37°C as we process the coconut. This would help the oil to be released. Of course, we could set the temp higher, but that would make this coconut butter not suitable for raw foodists. Please do play with your food, and have fun figuring out what works best for you. (don’t forget to comment here with any helpful discoveries that might help others!)

This was on super kitchen machines blog and has absolutely amazed me.

[meganjane]

Denise, what do you use the coconut butter for?

[Bedlam]

Must confess not sure, thought maybe in baking? But was just amazed that you could! Love super kitchen machine blogg.

[Cuilidh]

This recipe sounds really tempting but I have the same question as Meganjane - what do you do with it once you have made it?  Hopefully we'll get some great suggestions and ideas flowing through here before long and we will all be making coconut butter to keep up with all the recipes!!!

[andiesenji]

Use it wherever you would use coconut oil.
It is the same thing, just homemade instead of a commercial product. 

There is a topic about Coconut oil that was pretty active for a while. 

[Cuilidh]

Andie, I should have known you or JD would have come up with a prompt answer on this.  Thanks very much.  Do you think it could substitute for coconut milk or coconut cream?

Bedlam, this is probably a silly question and I am sure the answer is obvious, but I just want to ask anyway - does it have a very strong coconut taste?

[judydawn]

Here's an earlier discussion on coconut oil.

[andiesenji]

Andie, I should have known you or JD would have come up with a prompt answer on this.  Thanks very much.  Do you think it could substitute for coconut milk or coconut cream?

Bedlam, this is probably a silly question and I am sure the answer is obvious, but I just want to ask anyway - does it have a very strong coconut taste?

It is not a substitute for coconut milk or cream.  
Making coconut milk is fairly simple, I often make it with fresh coconut, including the coconut water.  Like this.
The best recipe I have come across using shredded coconut is this one.

However someone posted in this forum about making it, perhaps a year or so ago.  I haven't done a search.  

[judydawn]

Is this the thread you mean Andie?

[achookwoman]

Could use it in Waffles.  I posted a recipe somewhere using coconut oil in waffles.

[andiesenji]

Is this the thread you mean Andie?

That's it, Judy.  Thanks!

[Bonsai]

Helene also showed how to make coconut milk on her blog.

I't great to be able to make our own ingredients - saves time, money , and at least we know what went into it!

[bluesed]

Im not sure if it saves you time to make your own coconut butter etc.. but as you say at least we know what is in it and we can adjust the flavor as we like it And for sure its more cheap.

Anyway use of coconut butter i guess its a healthy alternative to normal butter and you can replace butter in most recipes or use it to fry in. Not sure about the smoking point though but i guess you can find it somewhere in the net.

[faffa_70]

I think Jo has a discussion on her blog about what to use it for after she posted a link to Helen's blog and people asked the same thing

[bartoncs]

Has anyone made this successfully? I tried tonight but didn't work, just ended up as dry coconut ground finely...