Coconut-Dark Chocolate Pound Cake
Dark chocolate chips wrapped inside moist coconut pound cake, topped with dark chocolate ganache and shredded coconut this Coconut-Dark Chocolate Pound Cake is a chocolate & coconut lover's dream.
Happy back-to-school, everyone! Tomorrow is the first day of school with the students for me! And I'm nervous. I'm always nervous for the first day of school. See, it's not just the kids who get nervous. Some of us teachers do, too!
Know what calms my nerves? Chocolate. Of course it does. I am a chocoholic, after all. Oh, and hilarious back-to-school videos like this one ...
Have you seen this "Baby Got Class" back-to-school parody yet? I mean, it's totally hilarious. I laughed my sides off the first time I saw it.
So after I watched this video about ten times, I decided to calm the rest of my nerves with my old friend chocolate.
Dark chocolate, to be exact. Mixed with coconut. And wrapped up in coconut pound cake.
Yes, that ought to do the trick. Don't you think?
For an extra dark chocolate punch, I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips
in this cake and in the chocolate ganache glaze.
in this cake and in the chocolate ganache glaze. Not only are the Ghirardelli chips bittersweet for a stronger dark chocolate taste, they're also a bit bigger than regular chocolate chips ...
... and produce a cool poke-a-dot look in the baked cake.
See? Aren't the chocolate chip poke-a-dots cute?
I'm sure you could use regular semi-sweet chocolate chips just fine if you don't feel like going bittersweet. Or poke-a-dotty.
When it came to whipping up a chocolate ganache glaze for this scrumptious cake ... which I just knew it had to have ... , I turned to one of my absolute favorite cookbooks for help ... The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book
...Cook's Illustrated never lets me down! I swear by their recipes and methods ... whenever I'm in doubt of how to best do something in the kitchen, I turn to them.
And let me tell ya, their chocolate glaze did not disappoint.
Sprinkled with a touch of shredded coconut, it was just what I was looking forward to top off this coconutty pound cake creation.
Just perfect for calming first day of school nerves.
So, teachers, students, and support staff ... those who start back this week, weeks ago, or still to come in the coming weeks ... I wish you a very happy back to school! And I wish I could send each and every one of you a piece of cake ... whether you're nervous or not.
Coconut-Dark Chocolate Pound Cake
Source: A Tracey original; chocolate glaze recipe from The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book: Baking Demystified
(Printable recipe)
(Printable recipe)
Ingredients
Pound Cake:
- 3 c. granulated sugar
- 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 2 T. Crisco shortening
- 6 eggs
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. coconut extract
- 3 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 c. milk
- 1 c. shredded coconut
- 3/4 c. (6 oz.) Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 c. heavy cream
- 2 T. corn syrup
- 1/2 c. (4 oz.) Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 to 1/2 c. shredded coconut
- FOR THE POUND CAKE: Cream the sugar, butter, and Crisco with an electric mixer, about 3-4 minutes. Add vanilla extract, coconut extract, and eggs, beating for a few seconds after the addition of each egg. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer about 10-15 minutes. Be sure to beat for the full time.
- Combine flour and baking powder. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture and milk, alternately, to the creamed sugar and eggs mixture. Mix after each addition until just combined. Gently stir in shredded coconut and bittersweet chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into a tube pan that has been generously sprayed with non-stick baking spray with flour {or buttered & floured}. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until a toothpick inserted in the top comes out clean. Cool about a 1/2 an hour in the pan; remove cake from pan by inverting pan onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE: Place heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk gently until chocolate is melted and glaze is smooth.
- Drizzle over cooled cake. Sprinkle with additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded coconut.
Enjoy!
Please enjoy these other delectable cake recipes from ...
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup Cake
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at no additional cost to you.Read more..