Tender Chocolate Coconut Cake - Pareve or Vegan

Amarante

Sat, Dec 10 2022, 9:41 pm

This was a tasty easy cake.

You can make pareve or even vegan if someone has an allergy to eggs - see note at the bottom for vegan subs

Tender Chocolate Coconut Cake

Excerpt From: Melissa Clark - Dinner in One

With a soft, velvety crumb and shaggy coconut icing, this is on the lighter side of the chocolate cake spectrum, more airy than dense. The glaze, which is poured onto the cake while it’s still warm, soaks into the crumb, making it very moist. You can use either sweetened or unsweetened coconut for the glaze. The sweetened kind gives you a candy-like topping that’s a little like the filling of a Mounds bar; unsweetened flakes take the sugar quotient down a notch. In either case, it’s a pretty, festive cake that comes together in a flash.

SERVES 8 TO 10

FOR THE CAKE

8 tablespoons (1 stick / 113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (or ½ cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed, sunflower, or safflower), plus more for the pan
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
⅓ cup (30 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1¼ cups (160 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
¼ cup sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut

FOR THE GLAZE

FOR THE GLAZE

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
¼ cup sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut

1. Make the cake: Heat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan or a 9 × 9-inch baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper (if you’re using a square pan, you can leave about 2 inches of excess paper on each side to help you lift the cake out of the pan).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, coconut milk, vanilla, and vinegar until well combined and smooth. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until smooth, then whisk in the flour last of all.

3. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips, if using, and the shredded coconut until just incorporated.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake until the edges of the cake spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

5. Right before the cake comes out of the oven, make the glaze (don’t do it ahead of time or it will get gloppy): Place the confectioners’ sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk in the coconut milk until well combined. When the cake comes out of the oven, use a fork or toothpick to poke holes all over the top of it. Pour the coconut glaze evenly over the warm cake, allowing the glaze to soak into the cake. Sprinkle the shredded coconut on top.

6. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to let the glaze set and the cake cool completely before cutting.

VEGAN UPGRADE

Use oil instead of butter. A flax egg works perfectly here: In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal with 2½ tablespoons water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then use in place of the egg.