Thursday 22 September 2011

Coconut Milk Chocolate Cake


I've finally moved into my amazing little flat in London. Today my mum left after helping me out and going on holiday - we've been on the move for weeks.

It feels so good that I can finally settle down into my new home. My boxes have been shifted, my furniture has been assembled. Sadly my kitchen is still in utter chaos.


Unfortunately I don't have internet yet in my flat so I'm not properly online. If my battery doesn't run out first, I'm sorting that out right after this. I'll reply to comments and email soon too - I'm sorry for the wait.


I found this recipe months ago and have been meaning to make it since. The inclusion of coconut milk into the cake itself fascinated me. I made it to take to a dinner party just before we left Switzerland at the end of August.

Instead of the buttercream icing I made a coconut milk ganache - I thought of the idea a few months ago and thought I was being very original until I googled it. I adored the way it came out - it's thick and slightly sweet and essentially just really delicious.


The overall result is a fudgy chocolate cake that is at once very rich but not too heavy. There's a hint of coconut milk in both the cake and ganache but it's not overwhelming. It's utterly gorgeous.


Coconut Milk Chocolate Cake
(Cake recipe adapted from this recipe on the little red house. blog)

For the cake:
55g dark chocolate (70%)
85g quality cocoa powder
200ml boiling water
145g plain flour
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
90g unsalted butter
230g caster sugar
50g dark muscovado sugar
2 eggs
275ml coconut milk

For the ganache:
125ml coconut milk
125g dark chocolate (70%)

Line an 8" square pan with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Chop the chocolate up and place in a small bowl with the cocoa powder. Pour over the boiling water. Whisk until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Place the sugars in the bowl of a stand mix and whisk quickly to combine. Add the melted butter and whisk until combined. Add one egg and whisk to combine. Add the other egg and then whisk for 3 minutes until pale and thick.

Slowly add the coconut milk and then the chocolate mix, whisking as you go. Finally add the content of the flour bowl and whisk to combine. Pour into the prepared pan. Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out from the centre with a few damp crumbs instead of liquid mixture. Sit on a wire rack until cool.

When you're ready to ice the cake, pour the coconut milk into a small saucepan and place over a medium heat. Chop the chocolate into small chunks and place into a small bowl. When the coconut milk just comes to a boil take off the heat and pour over the chocolate. Leave for one minute then whisk until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes before pouring over the cake.

(Makes 16 small but super-rich squares)

47 comments:

  1. oh my, emma! rich, dense, eat-out-of-the-pan perfection...

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  2. Wow, that looks incredible! Also great as I'm often looking for ways to use up partly-used tins of coconut milk...

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  3. I LOVE this recipe! Love the blog it's from too :)

    Congrats on the new place! I'm happy for you and I hope you get everything sorted out easily.

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  4. Holy cow, there ought to be a law against cakes like this. In fact, I'd like to make a citizen's arrest. I am on a flight to London to collect the evidence. Don't eat it all before I get there! You have milk, right? :-) ...Susan

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  5. These pictures make me want to stick my finger into that unctuous icing. Good luck in your new home

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  6. This looks and sounds delicious! The coconut milk ganache is a great idea, perfect if you're baking for anyone vegan or dairy free, definitely going to bookmark this! Good luck settling into your new home.

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  7. This looks so good - almost as much brownie as cake. I sometimes add coconut milk to chocolate sauce for ice cream, but never thought of including it in (and on) a cake...yum! Bookmarked to make very soon :-)

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  8. They look sinfully delicious, Emma. Must try! Good luck with getting settled in your new flat :-)

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  9. gretchen - It really was hard to resist eating it straight out of the pan before we look it to dinner!

    Anon - It uses a tin of coconut milk itself unfortunately so it's not as useful in that respect as I was hoping - but it's a good excuse anyway :)

    Kaitlin - have you tried it? It's amazing, you must. Hopefully my kitchen will be sorted today - I'll feel more human then :)

    LunaCafe - heheh! I wish I still had some left, it was finished weeks ago :(

    Sally - It was such a silky ganache, perfect for these shots - it did firm up after a few hours.

    hungryhinny - I hadn't thought about how perfect this would be for vegan/dairy free, thanks for pointing that out!

    thelittleloaf - It is almost like a nut-free brownie actually. I love the idea of using coconut milk in a chocolate sauce.

    Miss Kimbers - You can never have too much chocolate!

    Gretchen - It is a bit sinful - do try it out! Thanks and sorry again about the other night - see you soon :)

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  10. congrats on the new place- hope it's amazing. i love this recipe- it reminds me of an American chocolate treat- Almond Joy - which was one of mum's faves when i was growing up. and lovely pics- very difficult to photograph smthg this dark so well. teach us? :) x shayma

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  11. Haha I was just like you, thinking I was super original with coconut milk ganache until I googled it. But it's so good I don't care who thought of it! I can imagine that fudgy cake is perfect for the ganache too :)

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  12. Wow, this cake looks divinie!!!! I love that closeup photo of the ganache oozing down the side. I want to lick it off my screen!! Yum.

    The use of coconut milk sounds really interesting. Can you taste the coconut?

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  13. This looks moist and perfect! I have been wanting to bake with coconut milk for some time so this is great. I'm wondering if you think the butter could be subbed for vegetable oil? (Want to make it parve for certain dinner guests... long story).

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  14. shayma - Sounds similar to the bounty bars we have here, though they only have the coconut. Can't think of any specific tips for dark things other than that they need good light or you'll loose detail.

    Nic - I loved the way it oozed - nothing quite like ganache!

    Steph - haha exactly! I wonder who actually thought of it first :P The cake is a great match for it.

    Jennifer - Glad you like the photos :) You can taste it, but it's subtle.

    Katherine Martinelli - I don't see why it couldn't be subbed for some non-flavoured oil, especially as it's already melted - I did think of trying coconut oil.

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  15. It's just perfect for cake monster like me! :)

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  16. Beautiful, yummy and downright perfect!

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  17. This looks so beautiful... May I ask where you are doing your pastry course?? It is just that I'm also considering of doing a culinary course after graduating and I'm also at Oxford. If it's private please feel free to drop me an email!! Best wishes

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  18. YUM, oh this looks absolutely amazing! I so need to try this cake, it looks sooooo tasty! :)

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  19. Oh my goodness! I have died and gone to heaven!
    This is what Heaven looks like, right? Utterly delicious!
    Congrats on the move to the new flat in London Emma. Hope you'll be very happy!

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  20. This looks utterly delicious! Love the pictures!

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  21. Gorgeous is right!!!! Those pictures are KILLING me.

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  22. onionchoco - heh well I'm glad a cake monster likes it :)

    Madison Mayberry - thank you Madison! You must try it, it's such a winner.

    Maria - I remember you're at Oxford - fine art isn't it? I'm doing the year long patisserie diploma at Cordon Bleu London. Hopefully it'll be good!

    Sara - It was tasty :) Do try.

    MeLikeyUK -Heheh well I don't know what heaven is like but I'd hope it has cakes like this one!

    Charlotte au Chocolat - thank you, I'm glad you like it :)

    Jolene - I hope not literally!!

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  23. This looks absolutely devine, thanks for a great recipe idea!

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  24. This looks delicious! Very chocolatey and a bit squidgy. Nom nom.

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  25. oh boy oh boy oh boy! im so in love with this cake, can't wait to try make it!

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  26. I'm sitting in my Dad's office and this cake makes it more tempting to go and put my apron on and start cooking!

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  27. I had trouble with this recipe. It made quite a bit more than I would have thought to put into a 9x9 inch square and nearly baked over! It took almost 50 minutes before the middle stopped moving and even then it is something like a pudding crossed with a cake rather than a cake! I think it would have turned out lovely had I split it into two pans. It has a great flavor, but the texture leaves something to be desired. And I am stealing the ganache idea...yummy! I usually have coconut milk in the house - way more often than I do cream.

    On to try #2!

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  28. Sara - Sorry to hear you had trouble. Maybe my 9x9 is deeper? It is more of a pudding than cake really (I served it as pudding) - if you look at my last picture it's very fudgy and rich. I probably should have made that clearer, sorry!

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  29. Do you think it would work to replace the butter with olive oil? I am needing a dairy free cake and it is so close except for the butter! I am super excited to try the ganache! I love ganache and the fact that it is dairy free is totally awesome!!!

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    1. Anon - I would try coconut oil personally (I've been wanting to try it anyway actually) but I imagine another oil would work too - though I'd go for a flavourless one if possible. Hope that helps!

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    2. That is a great idea! I didn't even think of coconut oil! I bet that would work much better! Thank you so much!

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  30. I baked this cake because I had some coconut milk to use up as we had enjoyed a yummy thai curry the night before. What a delight!! my six year old and hubby just loved it, we had it with out the ganache and it was just lovely with a dollop of thick natural yogurt. Thank you for sharing your beautiful recipes with us, I am really enjoying going through your recipes and looking at your wonderful phot0graghy.............do you have a cook book in the making?! Happy baking..........

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  31. Anon - I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I don't have a cook book in the making, no, but I'm very touched that you asked!! Happy baking to you too.

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  32. Wow! I reelly wish i cud just snap my fingers and mak it appear on my tabel. I luks lovly.sory about bad english. yes and if you do make a cook book, Make sure you have chocolate browny in it because then if it is as good as this then i would lov it. BIG chocolatte fan. my sister and brother make brownie whenever we can.and my brother just came and saw this meal and sed "Machen,dass jetzt bitter."which means "mak that now please" so i wil stop typing and mak it now!

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  33. This one has gone straight to the top of my dessert to do list. I eat, breath and sleep coconut. And adding it to chocolate well wow. Thank you.

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  34. Most divine cake that I have ever tasted.

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  35. Replaced the plain flour with spelt flour and used organic unrefined coconut oil instead of butter. Took a bit longer to bake but It was absolutely delicious. Thank you for the recipe!

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  36. poiresauchocolat17 April 2013 at 09:03

    Ooh sounds great! Lovely changes.

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  37. This cake was lovely, and so darkly chocolatey. I found that the coconut flavour didn't really come through, but perhaps contributed to the overall exotic and clean taste- I thought that it would go really well with coconut whipped cream (serve it with the whipped fatty part of a can of coconut).
    Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    http://thesugarlump.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/chocolate-coconut-milk-cake.html

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  38. poiresauchocolat17 June 2013 at 18:00

    I'm glad you liked it. As you say, the coconut flavour is subtle - but I like it like that, as it can be a bit overpowering. Did you make the ganache too? That adds a bit more coconut oomph.

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  39. Yes, the ganache was wonderful; I think the coconut in the ganache also gives the chocolate a degree of clarity to cut through the richness
    Thanks again

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  40. We tried this recipe and it was SUPERB!
    It was delicious. Normally, I don't like coconut but the taste was first class. You also explained it very well. THANK YOU!

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  41. poiresauchocolat12 July 2013 at 14:47

    I'm so pleased you liked it Aidan - mum showed me a piece on Skype and it looked delicious!

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  42. I'm thinking of using coconut oil instead of butter... What do you think? It's tasty &, smells Devine ! And, healthy too...anything to eat chocolate!!!

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  43. Another great recipe Emma. I actually used approximated american measuring cups and still think my cake turned out very much like yours in picture. Like you mentioned as well, it's more pudding than a sturdy cake but mighty delicious. For the ganache because I didn't have enough coconut milk or chocolate, I just dumped whatever coconut cream I had with some cocoa powder and thinned it out a little with water, heated it a bit and added it to the cake as it was just out of the oven. It did exactly what I thought it would! The moisture just seeps into the top layer of the cake making it more like a self saucing pudding. I had my first slice hot and it was to die for. Thanks!

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