Homemade Pocket Triangles

These little pocket triangles are a Sri Lankan teatime sweet, tender shortcrust pastry folded around a rich, caramelized coconut filling.

The pastry is essentially a sweet cookie dough, creamed butter and sugar bound with egg and flour. Chilling it for at least 30 minutes is the step you can’t skip; cold dough rolls out cleanly and holds its shape in the oven instead of spreading into a puddle.

The filling is where it gets interesting. Sugar and water are cooked down to a golden caramel, then shredded coconut, dates, raisins, and cashews go in, with a hit of almond essence tying it together. The result is chewy, nutty, and toffee-sweet.

Fold the rounds so the filling peeks out, as the recipe directs, and bake until golden. Don’t overfill, or the filling bubbles out and the pockets won’t seal.

Chef Tips

• Chill the dough the full 30 minutes so it rolls and shapes easily without sticking.
• Cook the sugar syrup just to golden brown; take it too far and the caramel turns bitter.
• Use a heaping teaspoon of filling per round and don’t overstuff, or the pockets leak as they bake.
• Cool them before eating, since the caramel filling is molten straight from the oven.

Variations

• Swap the cashews for almonds or pistachios.
• Add a pinch of cardamom or cinnamon to the filling for warm spice.
• Dust the cooled pastries with powdered sugar.