Coconut Desserts

I had some extra time this past weekend and decided to bake some treats that involved coconut. The first being a chocaroon cake and the second being homemade Girl Scout Samoa cookies. Both took a lot of time and effort, but it was worth it in the end. I definitely learned some helpful tips by the end as well.

Chocaroon Cake

 For the inspiration of the Chocaroon (also known as the Chocolate Macaroon) Cake, I used this recipe: Chocaroon Cake Recipe. From this I used the recipe for the filling, and for the cake I used my favorite cake recipe: Elizabeth's Extreme Chocolate Lover's Cake Recipe.

  

Cake Ingredients: 

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1 cup water

Coconut Filling Ingredients:

2 egg whites 

1 pinch salt

1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups flaked coconut

 

 Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 (9 inch) pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In the top of a double boiler, heat 6 ounces chocolate, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the melted chocolate. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour 2/3 the batter evenly into a prepared bundt pan. 
3. Beat egg white with salt until foamy. Gradually add sugar, and continue beating until mixture forms stiff shiny peaks. Blend in flour and coconut.
4.  Spoon the coconut mixture evenly onto the cake batter. Pour on the remaining cake batter evenly.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. 

 I decided to made a chocolate ganache to pour over the cake as well which added more richness to it. 

Homemade Girl Scout Samoa Cookies

 

 For this recipe, I combined the cookie recipe from one website:Cookie Recipe with the topping from another website: Topping Recipe. Although they are not a perfect match for the real thing, I think they turned out really well. 

Cookies Ingredients

1 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

up to 2 tbsp milk 

6 tablespoons butter  

1/2 cup granulated sugar

 1/2 cup light corn syrup 

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

4 cups toasted coconut

 1 cup chocolate chips

 

Recipe:

 

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add in egg and beat until well incorporated, scraping down the bowl, if necessary. Add in vanilla. Beat until smooth. With mixer on low, add in salt and flour. Mix until completely incorporated and dough is uniform. Roll out dough between parchment paper to about 1/4 of an inch thickness. Freeze for at least 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut out circle pieces with a cookie cutter. Use a smaller circle cookie cutter to cut a hole in the middle or you can use a knife. Bake for 8 minutes, or until crisp. Let cool completely.
3.In a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.
4.Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
5.Slowly pour in Eagle Brand milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220-228 degrees.
6.Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Beat until creamy. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.
7.Spoon by tablespoonfuls onto the cookies. Flatten with a spoon.
8.Cool completely.9. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring well after each interval, until fully melted. Place the caramel coated cookies in the chocolate. Use a fork to pull them out of the chocolate and place them on a parchment line cookie sheet. Use the chocolate still on the fork to drizzle stripes over the top of the cookies. Refrigerate until set.