Coconut-Topped Chocolate Cake

This cake is one I discovered as a teen and requested as a birthday cake on several occasions. I found the recipe for this coconut topping in a recipe book of my mom’s and paired it with chocolate cake for a fantastic and unusual dessert. The coconut topping is toasted right on top of the cake and gets a little bit crunchy and caramelized. It's super delicious. This is also a very easy recipe that takes less time to prepare than a typical cake because you don’t have to wait for the cake to cool.

For coconut lovers out there, you may also like my recipes for coconut cake, 2-layer coconut cake, coconut macaroons, coconut custard pie, and coconut pecan pie.

For the cake, simply mix and bake any chocolate cake mix in a 9 x 13 pan according to package instructions. I used a chocolate fudge cake here, but I have also used devil’s food, German chocolate, and milk chocolate cake mixes in the past. Use whatever chocolate cake you like best.

While the cake is baking, make the topping:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup honey

3 cups shredded flaked coconut 

Mix the butter and honey until smooth. 

Stir in the coconut. 

As soon as the cake is done, remove it from the oven and spread the coconut topping on the top of the cake. The coconut makes the topping hard to spread so it usually works best to add it in spoonfuls and then spread it outward very carefully. The topping will make a fairly thin layer on the cake. 

Turn the oven on low broil and place the cake in the oven for just 3-5 minutes or until the coconut becomes toasted and brown on top. You may need to turn the cake during this process to ensure that the coconut browns evenly. This cake is best served warm (with a little vanilla ice cream), but it's good however you eat it. Enjoy!

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