Coconut Chocolate Cake

I made this cake a while ago for my dad's birthday. His birthday is so close to my brothers and Christmas that by the time we make it to his I've been baking for a whole week. This year he requested anything with coconut and chocolate. I decided to go with a simple chocolate cake, filled with coconut custard, and covered in cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut. It turned out amazingly well and was the favorite cake of my family's holiday season.

I used my basic chocolate cake recipe for the base (seen here) bake in a 8 inch round pan.

Coconut Custard
2 egg yokes 
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp + 2 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
1 handfull-ish shredded coconut


1. Whisk together the yokes, cornstarch, and 2 tbsp sugar in a small heat proof bowl (glass is preferable).
2. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, bring milk and the rest of the sugar to a simmer.
3. Pour a small bit of the hot milk into to the egg mixture whisking constantly. Add the remaining mixture, continue mixing.
4. Pour the entire mixture back into the sauce pan and add in the coconut. Continue whisking the mixture over medium heat. It will thicken quickly so make sure you are paying attention and keep stirring!
5. When custard has reached the desired consistency, remove from heat. Cover the mixture tightly with plastic wrap and press down to remove air. Refrigerate until ready to use.


Cream Cheese Frosting (one of my favs)
4 oz salted butter (room temperature)
8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 


1. Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
2. Add sugar a little bit at a time, beating until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.


Putting it all together!!!
1 8 inch chocolate cake
coconut custard
cream cheese frosting
shredded toasted coconut


1. Cut the fully cooled cake in half horizontally.
2. Spread the custard on top of the bottom half evenly, then replace the top.
3. Cover the entire cake in cream cheese frosting. Don't worry about making it pretty, just slap it on. 
4. Take a hand full of toasted coconut and press it into the sides of the cake. The flakes will stick to the frosting. Sprinkle all over the top as well until you have a beautiful toasted coconut mountain of deliciousness!