January 10, 2014

balance diet – naughty cake (boozy coconut-chocolate cake)

cakes, chocolate, fruit
balance diet – naughty cake (boozy coconut-chocolate cake)

Happy New Year! I had my share of sweet holiday treats from Christmas and New Year’s Day celebrations, and I hope you did too.

As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, there seemed to a flood of people who awoke from a sugar coma after consuming their load of holiday goodies. They turned to diets, juice cleanses, and promises to spend more time at the gym—almost as if to punish themselves for having a good time.

Many folks, including M & I, like to eat healthy, so a bit of holiday celebration doesn’t send anyone into a panic. It’s all about balance and if you can do just that, there’s no harm in enjoying a muffin or a slice of cake.

Just last week, a fellow blogger brought up the issue. Right after Christmas, most of the posts were geared toward healthy living, so she worried that it would be inappropriate to post her muffin recipe. Many chimed in and suggested that she stick to her plan and post the recipe, regardless.

My $.02 about her conflict is that you can’t please the world or follow the masses if that’s not what’s in your heart. I’ll continue to post desserts that celebrate the sweetness in life, so here is naughty cake/boozy coconut chocolate cake. You’ve been good. You deserve it.

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Print Recipe

Naughty Cake

Yield: one 6-cup bundt cake or 12-15 mini bundt

Ingredients:

Coconut Cake

1-1/4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons (7 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1-1/2 treaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1-1/3 cups (8 ounces) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 tablespoons (canned) unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 teaspoons coconut extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup (about 1 ounce) unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

2 extra-large eggs, room temperature

8 tablespoons (4 ounces/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Rum Syrup

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/3 cup ( 2-3/8 ounces) granulated sugar

1/4 cup coconut rum

Chocolate Glaze

1 cup (4 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup (1 ounces) dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 tablespoons boiling water

1-2 tablespoons of unsweetened shredded coconut, for garnish

 

Directions:

Coconut Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and adjust rack to middle position. Spray 6-cup bundt pan with cooking spray and dust with flour. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips in a medium bowl, set aside. Combine coconut milk and extracts in a separate bowl, set aside.

2.Process sugar and shredded coconut in a food processor until finely ground. Add butter and process until smooth. With the machine running, add eggs, one at a time; process until light in color. Transfer mixture into a large bowl.

3. Using a rubber spatula, fold in half of the flour mixture, add coconut milk mixture to combine. Fold in the rest of the flour mixture until just incorporated. Scrape batter into the prepared bundt pan and baked until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. (20-25 minutes for mini bundt cakes)

Rum Syrup

1. While cake is baking, melt butter and coconut oil  in a small saucepan. Stir in sugar and bring it to a boil. Immediately remove from stove and stir in rum. Set aside.

2. When cake is done, remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Using a long wooden skewer, poke several deep holes all over the top of the cake. Slowly spoon some of the syrup over the cake. Let set for a few minutes and repeat until you use up all the glaze. It might seems soggy, but the cake will eventually absorb it all and leave a glossy surface.

3. Allow cake to cool completely in pan for at least 1 hour. Turn the cake out onto a greased cooling rack.

Chocolate Glaze

1. Combined sugar, cocoa, espresso and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in boiling water until smooth and creamy. (Add more water, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, if glaze is too thick and vise versa with confectioners’ sugar.)

2. Spoon glaze over cake as desired and decorate with shredded coconut. You can serve it now or be good and wait for 24 hours to get an even tastier cake. (Store at room temperature for up to 5 days.)

 

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cakes, chocolate, fruit
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