January 11, 2004
Gâteau Noix de Coco et Chocolat Blanc
[Coconut and White Chocolate Cake]
As you know, yesterday was Maxence's birthday : I treated him to a nice dinner out on Friday (review on the way), and we celebrated again yesterday night with a group of friends, in a bar just a block from our apartment - which we more or less took over. This bar is a small place and we were on friendly terms with the owners, so I had decided to bake a cake and share it with our friends there. And since coconut and white chocolate are two of Maxence's favorite things, I twisted my favorite coffeecake recipe yet again to make a version around this combo, with flaked coconut in the batter, and a white chocolate and coconut frosting.
The birthday cake ceremony was duly held, with the lights off and the song and the clapping and the candles and the blow-them-out-in-one-breath challenge (successfully met). We served the cake on the paper plates we had brought, and I was showered with compliments about it, much to my glee. The cake, as pleasantly moist as ever, has a great coconut flavor and the frosting works really well, making it sweet and rich but not overly so.
Coconut and White Chocolate Cake
- 225 g unsweetened flaked coconut (3 cups)
- 140 g white chocolate
- 200 g flour
- a bag of baking powder (1 1/2 tsp)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 115 g butter, at room temperature
- 200 g sugar (I used half white, half dark muscovado)
- 3 eggs
- 2 plain yogurts (125 ml each, I use the Dannon Veloutés)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp rum (optional)
Preheat your oven to 180°C (360°F). Grease a 10 inch cake pan, preferably nonstick with a removable bottom.
Spread the coconut out on a cookie sheet, and insert it in the warm oven. Let it toast for about 5 minutes, tossing half way through, until fragrant and lightly golden. Remove from the oven (leave the oven on) and let cool.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
In a food processor, mix together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing between each. Add the yogurts, the vanilla extract and the rum, mix again. Add the flour mixture, mix again. Fold in two thirds of the coconut flakes with a spatula.
Pour the cake batter in the cake pan, and bake for fifty minutes to an hour, until the top is golden and a knife blade inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for ten minutes, then turn out on a rack.
When the cake has cooled down somewhat, break the chocolate in small pieces and melt it in a double boiler or the microwave. Use a small spoon to frost the surface of the cake with the melted chocolate. Sprinkle the rest of the coconut on the white chocolate. Let cool completely before serving.
 Hot Cross Buns with White Chocolate, Dates and Pistachios |
 Wholesome Banana Chocolate Breakfast Bars |
 Coconut Macaroons |
Never miss a recipe!
Sign up for the Chocolate & Zucchini newsletter to receive monthly news.
Wondering about the profile images that appear for some commenters? Get your own gravatar today!
I have never seen this combination -- how inventive of you! It does sound delicious, too. What a lucky birthday boy!
wah...haven't had this in a long long time. oohhh... it's 2:30 p.m. and now, i'm hungry. :(
happy birthday maxence! unfortunately, i do not know how to greet u in french. :( if i tried, will probably sound like an alien! ha!
Jackie - The pairing came to me all of a sudden (with a rush of light), and it did sound good! I also liked the white on white thing. Would be a nice wedding cake, too! :)
Wena - I should think coconut is a common ingredient in Malaysia, no?
bijoux -> cailloux ->poux ->hiboux ->genoux ->joujoux ->petit choux ->joyoux anniversairoux maxoux!
woosh! du chocolat *blanc* ici! c'est un blasphème dans ce temple voué au chocolat (le vrai). J'espère que le comité de censure C&Z sera magnanime cette fois ci, ca à l'air tellement bon que cela serait dommage de se faire sanctionner pour si peu!
Nassim - Et oui, tu vois un peu, les choses que l'on fait par amour! :) Celà dit, toute fan de chocolat noir de noir que je suis, je ne rechigne jamais devant un bon Kinder Surprise! Pour moi, le choco Kinder ou le chocolat blanc (très proches en goût) ne méritent pas vraiment le nom de chocolat, mais ce sont des friandises que j'apprécie quand même!
Happy Birthday Maxence! I hope you had a wonderful day :)
Clotilde - your cake looks magnificent! I really like that you've used yogurt in the cake mixture. Do you find that it makes the cake crumb more tender?
Angela - Yes, the yogurt makes the cake very moist, without using a ton of butter (a stick of butter for a cake that easily serves 12 is not that much) and gives it a particular flavor. I recommend it, especially since it seems to lend itself so well to endless variations in toppings!
Clotilde,
I made this cake with a little twist and tweaking yesterday and it was SCRUMMY!!! I posted the tweeaked recipe and some pics in my blog!
Merci!!!
one of the tastes that for me is Paris, is ... white chocolate with coconut - which we didn't find anywhere else in the world! great taste - the ultimative to me. for sure i will try the recipe, thanks!
Since I'm not very fond of white chocolate, I substituted it with dark chocolate and it was GREAT.
I'm planning to bake it again soon, perhaps with some chocolate filling...
Yummy!
I know this comment is very out of date, however this blog was only discovered a month ago. I made this cake when i went to visit my mum for a holiday, and 90% of the cake disappeared in the course of a day, however my family has a weird thing about eating the last piece of things, plus i continued to bake whilst i was there. I ate the last piece about 5 days after I made it and it was as fabulous as when it was first made, so love it, love it, love it :)
Now I am VERY late with the comment on that recipe ;-) but I only discovered this blog around 2 weeks ago and found it GREAT!!!
I made this cake for a friend and as she just loves the colour pink I decided to colour the cake and made a pink cake with a pink white chocolate frosting and pink coconut flakes :-!!! Works really well!
(I coloured it with good quality red food colouring for bakery products... turns out pink if you use less than recommended)
I would add more white chocolate as frosting though.
It was absolutely delicious.
Really gorgeous.
Thank you!
I'm just baking this cake for my brother's birthday, as he is also a big fan of white chocolate (i've never really understood that:) I hope it turns out as great as yours did!