I’ve got a great standby easy chocolate cake, but this one tops it for creativity!

This cake was an absolute delight to make. I’ve had a can of coconut milk on standby for a while now, and this was the perfect use for it! I ended up using half the coconut milk in the cake itself, and the other half in the icing. It made the icing less stiff (which I really liked). I’m more of a frosting pour-er than decorator :)

I also opted out of toasting the coconut since the consistency of the non-toasted coconut went better with the cake’s consistency, I think! It would have been a little too crunchy otherwise. But it’s up to you and what you like; this definitely also simplified the decorating step for me.

The chocolate cake itself is thick and rich. You can absolutely taste the coconut milk as well as all of the dark chocolate that goes into it.

My poor oven does not bake things evenly, so I made sure to rotate it partway through. Even so, it baked up very high in the middle – which I actually enjoy! Who needs a completely level cake? Not this girl.

I’d love to try this chocolate cake again but with some coconut baked into the batter as well, or to try this as a layer cake with a German chocolate cake’s filling in between the layers.

This is a tall enough cake that it can feed a lot of people with thin slices. I’d recommend this for any kind of gathering!

Final tips:

• feel free to leave out the toasting step for the coconut topping. It may feel fresher or have a better texture!
• you can go overboard on the coconut milk in the frosting. It won’t come out as stiff as your typical buttercream, but unless you’re looking to get very fancy with your decorating, you don’t need it.

Related Posts:

• Mint Chocolate Chip Cake
• Gluten free chocolate cake roll
• Mocha brownies
• Chocolate Mint Sandwiches
• Chocolate Malted & Toasted-Marshmallow Layer Cake

Tags: coconut milk, semisweet chocolate, toasted coconut, unsweetened cocoa powder