One of my other favorite flavors in the world is coconut and well, chocolate & coconut are pretty much an incredible combination no matter what the vessel (cake, candy bar, cocktail...)!
Doesn't this cake look so innocent and angelic?
Fluffy Coconut Italian Meringue frosting swirled all around with shredded coconut dressing it up...It looks so sweet, but you know that even the sweetest things in the world have a dark side...
And what a delicious dark side it is...
I discovered the cake recipe on the blog The Whisk Kid. If you haven't check out her blog, definitely take a look. She's a 20 year old college sophomore and a talented baker and photographer. She has quite a following and her talents even landed her on the Martha Stewart show. And yes you read that right...she's TWENTY!
The chocolate cake is dense, but moist, with a rich chocolate flavor. The richness of the cake pairs perfectly with the light & fluffy coconut frosting.
The Whisk Kid's recipe is for a 6" cake, but unless you own a kitchen scale you will probably find it hard to measure. I know I can't accurately measure 3/8 of a cup of anything (but I'm working on getting that scale). Her notes tell you that doubling it will give you a 2 9" cakes. To make the doubling easier I used an online recipe calculator as I don't like to rely on my sketchy math skills. But I've gone ahead and provided the recipe already doubled for you.
Deep Chocolate Cake adapted from The Whisk Kid
2 2/3 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups brown sugar lightly packed
4 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/3 cups sour cream, room temperature
1 1/3 cups hot coffee
{Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Grease two 9-inch pans (I use Bakers Joy spray). Set aside.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar, until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until very well incorporated. Add the vanilla. Being sure to scrape the bowl often, pour in a third of the dry ingredients, mix until just combined, then add half of the sour cream and mix until just combined. Repeat, then add the remaining dry ingredients. Gently stir in the hot coffee, and pour into prepared pans. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Place baked cakes in pans on a cooling rack for ten minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans and allow to cool completely before frosting.}
Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar, until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until very well incorporated. Add the vanilla. Being sure to scrape the bowl often, pour in a third of the dry ingredients, mix until just combined, then add half of the sour cream and mix until just combined. Repeat, then add the remaining dry ingredients. Gently stir in the hot coffee, and pour into prepared pans. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Place baked cakes in pans on a cooling rack for ten minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans and allow to cool completely before frosting.}
A little trick for keeping your scratch cakes moist is to wrap the layers in plastic wrap before they cool completely. Once your cakes have cooled in the pan for ten minutes, turn the cake layer out onto a cardboard cake round (you can find these in the cake aisle of any craft store). Place a large piece of plastic wrap over the exposed cake part, then place another cake board over the plastic wrap. The cake and plastic wrap should now be sandwiched between the two cake boards. Flip it over, remove the cake board from the top side and wrap the plastic wrap over the exposed cake. Do this a few times around with the plastic wrap, always using the cake boards as support so your cake doesn't rip in half. Be sure not to wrap so tightly that you warp the shape of the cake!
Wrapping the cake in the plastic wrap while it's still fairly warm, will help trap the escaping steam and keep your cake super moist! I leave my cakes wrapped until they are completely cooled and ready to frost.
For the frosting, I made an Italian Meringue Buttercream and added 2 teaspoons of coconut extract instead of vanilla. You find the recipe and watch a video on how to make it in my previous post. The flavor of the coconut was not overpowering, and at my husband's request, I also added shredded coconut in between each layer and then sprinkled some on the top and bottom of the cake as well.
Delicious! So go on and enjoy a little chocolate & coconut love yourself!
