Chocolate Coconut Cream Cake (aka Dos Leches)

Months ago I went to a meet and greet for church, and at this little shindig was a cake that when I bit into it was so moist and dense and delicately flavored that I had to ask for the recipe.  Fast forward, cake forgotten, I ran into the maker of this cake at the grocery store last weekend.  I see her at least once a week, but that day I was "power shopping" because I had a cake in the oven, which spawned a conversation about her delicious cake from last summer, right there in the produce aisle.  She told me how insanely easy it was and then we talked about different variations, and now I've been waiting all week for the treats in the house to run out so I could make this. 

This recipe has been heavily altered from how I was told, but the method is the same.  The original cake was a boxed white cake mix, baked according to the directions, covered in sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk while hot, then frosted with cool whip and topped with shredded coconut.  I made a from-scratch chocolate cake, used a homemade whipped cream, and topped it with chocolate shavings and toasted coconut. 

Recipe adapted from allrecipes, method adapted from Machelle Kelly

Ingredients
Cake-
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream-
14 oz can coconut milk
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Topping-
1 cup very cold heavy cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
shaved chocolate
2/3 cup shredded coconut, toasted*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a 9x13 inch pan.  In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter, water, and cocoa powder together.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together flour and sugar.  Dissolve the baking soda into the buttermilk.  When the butter mixture is melted, add it to the flour and sugar, and whisk to combine.  Add buttermilk, eggs, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.  Whisk.  Add mayonnaise and whisk again.  Pour into your baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

About 5 minutes before your cake should be coming out of the oven, combine the sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk.  While the cake is still hot, use a drinking straw to make several small holes (about every inch and a half or so) in the cake.  Evenly drizzle the milk mixture over the hot cake.  Cool the cake for a minimum of 4 hours in the refrigerator.

After the cake has been cooling for a couple of hours, beat the cream on high speed until stiff peaks form, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat another 15-30 seconds.  Spread the whipped cream over the cooled cake.  Sprinkle with chocolate shavings and coconut.


*To toast coconut, place a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add coconut.  When you can smell the coconut, gently stir it.  Keep the coconut moving every 30 to 60 seconds until it is golden and lightly toasted.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Every week I listen to the Joy the Baker podcast (remember, I've mentioned her recipes a few times). She actually does the podcast with her friend Tracy.  I've visited her site a few times, but haven't ever made any of Tracy's recipes before seeing this post.  I immediately went through my fridge/cupboards and put this together. 

Things I love:

1. When I find an easy to throw together baked good
2. When that baked good is chocolate and moist and delicious
3. When that recipe calls for simple ingredients that I *always* have at my house

Admittedly, when I made this I may have garnished it in bittersweet chocolate, knowing full well that my kids loathe bittersweet chocolate and wouldn't touch it.  On the down side, Casey and I ate an entire bundt cake in a 48-hour period.  Also admittedly, I've made this cake 3 times in as many weeks.  The last two times I made it, I did so in mini-bundt form (thanks, mom!).  The full-sized version of this cake is so easy to put together, but the mini ones are fun because everyone can decorate their own and you can keep them in the freezer for easy midnight snacking...not that Casey and I ever do that.  In whatever form you make them, just be sure it happens, because you won't be disappointed.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Adapted from Tracy from Shutterbean.com

Ingredients

Cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
2 cups flour
1 3/4 sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (I used mayonnaise the last time I made this recipe and it worked like a dream)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:
4 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour your bundt pan (if using a mini bundt pan, this process is time consuming and a little annoying, but I assure you it is all too necessary if you want the cakes to come out of the pan).  In a small saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water.  Cook over medium heat until the butter is melted and the cocoa powder is incorporated.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and baking soda. Pour half of the butter/cocoa mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined (it will be thick and lumpy).  Pour the other half of the liquid in and mix again.  Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition.  Add vanilla and sour cream, and mix again.

Pour into your prepared bundt pan.  Tap it on the counter a few times to get out any bubbles.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (for mini bundts, fill the bundt molds 1/2 full and bake for 15-20 minutes, then repeat the process after the first set of cakes have been removed from the pan).  Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack (place the cooling rack on top of the cake pan then flip it over).  Cool completely (one hour or more).

Make the glaze by heating the cream and condensed milk until just below boiling, then pour the milk mixture over the chocolate.  Whisk until well combined.  Drizzle over the cooled cake and top with any other desired toppings (for the minis we did jimmies, mini chocolate chips, and bits of broken chocolate toffee bar).