Cocorama Cake
Submitted by princess1
A rich chocolate coconut layer cake made from scratch with unsweetened baking chocolate, brown sugar, and light cream, topped with a pink cinnamon candy boiled frosting. Retro baking with serious wow factor.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
45 minREADY
75 minThis cake is a throwback to the kind of from-scratch baking that used to win blue ribbons at county fairs. Deep chocolate layers studded with coconut, crowned with a frosting that’s unlike anything you’ve seen.
The batter builds on melted unsweetened chocolate and brown sugar for a dark, deeply flavored crumb. Light cream keeps it rich and moist, while a full cup of shredded coconut adds chewy texture throughout. Vinegar and baking soda give it lift without baking powder, an old-fashioned technique that produces an incredibly tender cake.
But the frosting. Red cinnamon candies dissolve into the sugar syrup, tinting it pink and adding a warm, spicy sweetness that plays off the bittersweet chocolate in a way that’s completely unexpected and totally addictive.
Chef Tips
- Melt the chocolate gently over low heat or in short microwave bursts. Scorched chocolate turns grainy and bitter.
- The vinegar-and-hot-water addition at the end is intentional. It reacts with the baking soda for extra lift. Stir it in quickly and get the batter into pans right away.
- For the frosting, pour the hot syrup in a thin, steady stream into the beaten egg whites. Too fast and you’ll cook the whites into scrambled clumps.
- Use a candy thermometer for the frosting syrup. Hitting soft-ball stage is critical for the right texture.
Ingredients
Directions
Sift together the flour and salt.
Combine the brown sugar and the beaten eggs.
Beat well.
Blend in the melted unsweetened chocolate, the light cream and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients gradually.
Mix thoroughly.
Dissolve soda in the boiling water.
Stir into batter.
Combine the vinegar and the hot water.
Blend into batter.
Stir in the coconut.
Pour into two 8-inch round layer pans, well greased and lightly floured on the bottoms only.
Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) 30 to 35 minutes until cake springs back when touched lightly in center.
Cool and frost. Sprinkle with plain or tinted coconut.
Frosting: In saucepan combine the sugar, water, red cinnamon candies, corn syrup and cream of tartar.
Cook until a little syrup dropped in cold water forms a soft ball (236 degrees F).
Meanwhile, beat 2 egg whites with ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar and ⅛ teaspoon salt until stiff peaks form.
Add syrup to egg whites in slow, steady stream, beating constantly until thick enough to spread.
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