Chocolate Coconut Cake

I think there's something funny about desiccated coconut in desserts - you don't normally eat it on its own and its not very fun to eat (as opposed to shoving a huge handful of chocolate chips in your mouth), but once you have a bite of a dessert with them in it ... it becomes so more-ish! Why!? 

Anyway, that's what happened to me. I took a bite of a coconut macaroon and for some reason I had this craving to make a coconut chocolate based dessert. It was really odd because I don't even normally like macaroons, I honestly think they're overpriced and ridiculously sweet. But hey, cravings have got to be fulfilled so I took the opportunity to make a coconut cake when my boyfriend had to bring a cake for his team at work.

The recipe is adapted from BBC Good Food's recipe:

Isaac's coconut chocolate squares

I basically doubled the recipe to make a cake instead of squares, and re-adapted the icing. I used fluid ounces to measure because I use a measuring cup.

Ingredients

• 200g butter, softened
• 200g caster sugar / 8 fl oz 
• 3 eggs
• 220g self-raising flour / 8 fl oz , sifted
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder 
• 2 heaped tbsp cocoa powder / 80g sachet
• 5 tbsp milk
• 100g desiccated coconut (optional)

• 150g - 200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 25g butter
• 2 tbsp caster sugar / icing sugar
• 1 tsp coffee powder (optional)
• 2 - 3 tbsp cream / milk 
• 100g desiccated coconut
• Handfuls of chocolate chips (optional)

Method

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (fan) or 180 degrees. Line an 8 inch/20cm cake tin (I prefer a deep cake tin) with baking paper and butter the edges. 
2. Beat together butter and sugar until thick and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, alternating with a few tablespoons of flour at a time until all the flour is used. 
3. Sift in cocoa powder and mix completely. Stir in the milk and desiccated coconut (optional).
4. Bake the cake for 30 - 40 minutes until an inserted toothpick / knife comes out clean. Leave to cool.

Icing

1. Place a pyrex bowl (or any bowl that can sustain heat) on top of a pan of simmering water. Break in the chocolate and mix it with the butter in the bowl. Once melted, stir in the sugar, cream and coffee powder (optional). Leave to cool.
2. Turn the cake over and remove the baking paper. Flip it back again onto a plate and spread the icing on the cake (once the icing has cooled). Sprinkle the desiccated coconut and chocolate chips. 

Alternatively, you can also melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave (I'm always worried about burning it so I do it for 10 seconds at medium power and I keep checking it). It works perfectly fine although it might be more difficult to incorporate the cream which would help soften the icing. Otherwise, the icing would still be tasty but the chocolate might set which creates a hard layer of icing that you may have to struggle piercing through when you try and cut it!

I haven't got a picture yet but when I make it again I'll defo put it up. :) It's a great, non-sweet cake which is really easy to eat.