Coconut Mocha Sheet Cake
Carrie Masek
The weather took a sharp turn toward winter this week, both here in the Chicago area and around the country. With temperatures dipping into the single digits, there's nothing like coming home to a hot cup of coffee and a rich, chocolaty treat. To help warm us all, here's Catie's (nearly guilt free) recipe for Coconut Mocha sheet cake. A gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and vegan treat that's rich, dense and delicious.
Coconut Mocha Sheet Cake
Time: Prep: about 10 minutes
Bake: 45 minutes
Cooling time (varies)
Ingredients:
6 T coconut oil, melted
6 T cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c apple sauce (or fruit sauce of choice, pureed pear is also delicious, for example)
2 shots espresso or 1/4 c of strong coffee, warm to room-temp, not hot and not chilled)
6 T coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 c chopped bakers chocolate (optional to stir into batter, can add any % chocolate you like, but that will add sugar/milk, depending on choice)
1 T shredded coconut (optional to dust and toast on top)
Steps:
1. Turn on oven to 180 C / 350 F. Lightly coat/spray a small baking pan (10x7 or 8x8 inch) with coconut oil)
2. In small pot, melt coconut oil. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in cocoa until smooth. Blend in vanilla, apple sauce and espresso/coffee
4. Add coconut flour and baking soda to liquid ingredients and stir completely, working out lumps. Let rest for a few minutes for the flour to absorb the liquid. (if you are adding chocolate chunks, chop the chocolate here)
5. Stir in the chocolate chunks to batter and pour the batter into baking pan. Spread and smooth the batter out evenly with a spatula. It should be about 1 inch thick.
6. Dust with coconut flakes and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
7. Check the cake with a toothpick, and if it removes cleanly, the cake it cooked through (you may get streaks of melted chocolate or tiny flakes of cake, but you do not want batter goo on the toothpick. If gooey, give another 5 minutes).
8. Remove sheet cake from the oven and cool completely. (if making this in the getting-cold season, you can set it outside for 5-10 mins) Allow the cake to come to room temperature before cutting and serving. Enjoy warm/room, chilled or a-la-mode.
Recommendations for serving and eating: This is a very dense, moist, thin cake, (akin to flourless chocolate cake, for density/smoothness comparisons) so it makes great cake-bites or brownie sized pieces. Also delicious with vanilla ice cream (I love coconut or almond milk ice creams, but standard ice cream also works, though it does add sugar and/or milk). And, the cake goes great with another shot of espresso or cup of coffee. Great/even better the next day, so a great dessert to make in advance and/or to enjoy over time.
Do you have a favorite sheet cake recipe? If so, we'd love to hear about it. Please join the conversation and share your thoughts on the Facebook thread or in a comment on this blog. Or, if you'd like to share your opinions with the wider world, leave us a coffee review on Google or on your favorite review site. Not only do we value your opinions, but reviews help more people find us. Help us connect coffee lovers to fresh, quality coffee!
~ Carrie, Paul and all of us at Coffee by the Roast