My husband just turned 40. It’s kind of a big deal, and, being 33 and not 40, it’s is weird for me (but weirder for him). He did not go willingly, but alas, time did not stop.
He loves German chocolate cake, so I was going to make a big, decadent layer-y chocolate cake. But, as I’ve mentioned before, June is when we celebrate most of our family birthdays, plus Father’s day, so we already had a cheesecake and an ice cream cake lying around, and since most of those recipes have, like, 4,000 calories a slice, I decided to tone it down. Just a little.
You know our Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes? This cake is kind of like that, only with chocolate cake instead of sweet potatoes which, in case you were wondering, is always an acceptable option.
You’re going to need water, butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar (can we talk about how this was almost the time I almost forgot to put sugar in my husband’s birthday cake? Yeah…), flour, baking soda, salt, eggs, sour cream or buttermilk, and vanilla.
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13″ pan (and flour it if you like to; I usually don’t) and set it aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, and cocoa powder.
Over medium heat, stir the mixture frequently until it comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), add the flour,
sugar,
baking soda, and salt
and whisk together to combine.
Add the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk (or sour cream)
and beat until blended. Add the cocoa mixture and beat until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, make the coconut topping. You’ll need coconut, brown sugar, pecans, vanilla, almond extract, and butter.
Combine the coconut topping ingredients (except the milk or half and half) in a medium bowl.
Add a few tablespoons of milk or half and half, enough to help bring everything together.
When the cake is done baking, remove from the oven and turn on the oven broiler. Carefully drop the coconut topping over the cake and place the cake back in the oven for about 2 minutes. As the topping starts to melt, open the oven and gently spread it out over the cake. Return to oven just long enough for the coconut to start to brown (about 1 minute-90 seconds), but keep a close eye on it because it will burn very quickly. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool enough that the topping is crunchy and the cake doesn’to burn you, but it’s still warm and gooey. Serve warm with ice cream.
Coconut Crunch-Topped Chocolate Cake
Recipe adapted from Hershey’s Best-Loved Recipes
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour, spooned lightly into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
BROILED COCONUT TOPPING
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, softened or melted
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2-3 tablespoons whole milk or half and half
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13″ pan (and flour it if you like to; I usually don’t) and set it aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, and cocoa powder. Over medium heat, stir the mixture frequently until it comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), add the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and whisk together to combine. Add the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk (or sour cream) and beat until blended. Add the cocoa mixture and beat until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, combine the coconut topping ingredients (except the milk or half and half) in a medium bowl. Add a few tablespoons of milk or half and half, enough to help bring everything together.
When the cake is done baking, remove from the oven and turn on the oven broiler. Carefully drop the coconut topping over the cake and place the cake back in the oven for about 2 minutes. As the topping starts to melt, open the oven and gently spread it out over the cake. Return to oven just long enough for the coconut to start to brown (about 1 minute-90 seconds), but keep a close eye on it because it will burn very quickly. Remove from the oven and serve warm with ice cream.
