Double chocolate coconut bundt cake

This amazing chocolate coconut cake is a one bowl wonder which I adapted from a very old cookbook I was about to give away.

Not too sweet, with enough coconut and chocolate flavors, this is a perfect cake for an afternoon tea or snack.

Did I mention it’s a one bowl recipe?. Simply dump the ingredients in a bowl and beat for a few minutes. You’re welcome.

I have a million cookbooks, some really old, lots that are hard to find now, and as the obsessive baker I am, I cherish them like children. Don’t touch my books without permission. Or do so at your risk, haha.

But, so many great new ones appear every year that it’s hard to make space. Because I buy tons.

Clearly, I have a condition and it won’t go away. So, every few years, I try to get rid of some old ones, those I never even open anymore. As it happens every time I go to cut my hair and I just happen to like it that day, I make the discard pile of cookbooks and then start browsing them. Just in case I’m throwing away a great recipe or an idea.

And recipes like this one appear. And I give it a try and they’re so good. So the book goes back to the bookshelf. It’s really very hard to do my job let me tell you. The books just stay there.

Anyway, that’s how this chocolate coconut bundt cake came to be. Adapted as usual, because it’s what we bakers do, but essentially a great base recipe.

The chocolate glaze adds a lot to the final bite. This is hands down my favorite chocolate glaze, a ganache with the addition of corn syrup, butter and dulce de leche (there are many to choose from) that makes it silkier and prevents it from hardening too much. I like the frosting to remain soft. If you don’t have dulce de leche omit it, or use this other fabulous frosting, or your favorite one, I’m sure you have a go-to recipe that never fails.

The toasted coconut scales are for decoration really. They are a curious thing to bite into, so I encourage you to add regular flaked coconut to the decoration. Though scales look prettier, I don’t like biting into them much. But that’s my opinion of course.

So an old cookbook turned out to have this wonderful chocolate coconut cake. This is called vintage kitchen for a reason. I absolutely adore old cookbooks and the wonder of finding amazing recipes in them, still relevant after decades. This is one of them. With a few modern tweaks of course.

Double Chocolate coconut bundt cake

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• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Total Time: 70 minutes

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Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3.5 oz 100g semisweet chocolate, melted
• 2 cups 260g all-purpose or cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups 300g light or dark brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups 310ml buttermilk, room tº
• 1/2 cup 115g unsalted butter, room tº
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 eggs (room tº)
• 1 cup 60g unsweetened flaked coconut

For the glaze:

• 7 oz. 200g semisweet chocolate, chopped or chips
• Scant 1/2 cup (100g dulce de leche)
• 2 Tbs 28g unsalted butter
• 2 Tbs corn syrup or honey
• 1/4 cup 60g cream

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF / 180ºC.

For the cake:

1. Butter or spray a 10-inch (26cm) bundt cake pan and dust with fine breadcrumbs or flour.
2. In a large bowl sift flour, baking soda and powder, salt, sugar, milk, butter, vanilla and eggs.
3. Beat to mix, add melted chocolate and coconut and beat on high speed for 3 minutes, until creamy and light.
4. Transfer to prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
5. Let cool on wire rack and unmold on serving platter.

For the glaze:

1. Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat.
2. Mix with wooden spoon or wire whisk until all is melted and mixed but DO NOT let it boil.
3. Pour over the cooled cake and let it drip down the sides.
4. Decorate with flaked toasted coconut.

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adapted from Good Housekeeping Book of Desserts