Dancing Ghosts Chocolate Coconut Cake

Boooooooo!!!!! Dancing ghosts have to be the cutest Halloween cake toppers EVER! But you will love the taste of this confection too. Mocha coconut buttercream tops layers of rich, fudgey chocolate coconut cake. HAUNTINGLY DELICIOUS!

This recipe comes to you as part of #Choctoberfest with Imperial Sugar which is a week-long celebration with giveaways and chocolatey recipes! So for my first recipe I present an indulgent Chocolate Coconut Cake with adorable Halloween inspired decorations.

It might seem strange to some people, but Halloween is undeniably my favorite holiday! I love the scary decorations, dressing up, and all the cute kids in costume. Most years we decorate the yard with homemade tombstones and lots and lots of fog machines and invite our friends to help us create a haunted experience for our trick-or-treaters. We go all out in the spirit of theatrical Halloween fun. For me it’s the only reason to embrace the shorter days and colder temperatures!

So it’s time to get the Halloween pumpkin rolling. If you are going to a Halloween party, hosting a kids get-together, or like me need no excuse at all, this Dancing Ghosts Chocolate Coconut Cake is for you. The ghosts are white chocolate and use a similar technique to the Muppets Cupcakes I made recently but these are the easy version!

You need two colors of chocolate, white and dark and I’ve included this handy template for you. They can be made in about 20 minutes, so about the time it takes to bake the cake. Here’s how:

• Print your templates and prepare them like the ones in the Muppets Cupcakes post
• Melt your dark chocolate and place it in a plastic bottle with a very small tip
• Fill in the eyes and mouths of the ghosts and let the chocolate harden
• Melt your white chocolate and place it in a plastic bottle or disposable icing bag
• Fill in your ghosts one at a time. Gently wrap the cookie sheet on the counter until the chocolate smooths out
• Repeat with the rest of your ghosts.
• Once the white chocolate is set up (you can put it in the refrigerator for a couple of minutes to speed up the process) pop off your ghosts and make a face on the backside
• If making them in advance, place them in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

Now let’s talk about this rich Chocolate Coconut Cake! It’s my remake of the Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe.  It’s my mom’s fave but I’ve never been a fan. Great texture, simple, and works every time but I’ve always found the flavor to be lacking. So I’ve been testing ways to give it more oomph while keeping some of the best qualities of the original. After about a gazillion test batches this was the winner. The chocolate flavor is enhanced with coffee and coconut without changing the easiness factor!

Straight out of the oven it is incredibly light and soft and could be served simply in the pan with a chocolate ganache topping. But refrigerate it and turn it into an icebox cake and it gets a wonderful  fudgy quality. I am sure there is a science-y reason for this, but I’m not going to waste time thinking about it when I could eat another piece of chocolate coconut cake!

Oh and the mocha coconut buttercream! It’s a nice counterpoint to the chocolate coconut cake, as it’s light and full of creamy coconut milk and and whipped cream..and butter too, cause that makes all frostings better, right?  Happy #Choctoberfest everyone! And don’t forget to enter the giveaway for over $350 in prizes! Deadline is October 12th! (CONTEST CLOSED).

Dancing Ghosts Chocolate Coconut Cake

This delicious cake is perfect any time of year, but for Halloween, follow the tutorial to decorate it with dancing ghosts.

Print Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 2 hours hrs

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Servings: 12

Calories: 981kcal

Author: Vintage Kitty

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar raw
• 1 1/2 cups double strength coffee
• 1 TB vanilla extract
• 1 1/8 cups cocoa powder not dutch processed
• 2 1/2 cups plus 1/8 cake flour sifted
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/4 baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3/4 cup coconut oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk

Mocha Coconut Buttercream

• 1 1/3 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tsp organic granulated sugar
• 2 cups plus 4 TB butter
• 1 lb bag confectioners sugar
• 1 TB vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

Decorations

• White chocolate ghosts optional
• White chocolate chips optional

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Grease three 9 inch cake pans and line with a 9 inch round of parchment.
• Grease parchment and flour (or cocoa) the pans, making sure to shake out excess flour.
• Make your double strength coffee. so its really hot.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl combine coffee, sugars, vanilla extract and cocoa powder and stir until the sugar is mostly melted. Let cool.
• Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip coconut oil for 5 minutes.
• Add eggs and stir until combined.
• On low, add chocolate mixture in a slow steady stream.
• Add in the flour mixture in three additions , alternating with the coconut milk.
• Divide batter evenly between the pans.
• Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Let pans sit for five minutes and then flip out cakes onto a cooling rack.
• Let cool completely.

Mocha Coconut Buttercream.

• Put coconut milk in a large pan with a wide bottom.
• Reduce coconut milk over medium heat until it measures 2/3 cup, stirring often.
• Place coconut milk in the refrigerator and chill until cold.
• Meanwhile in the bowl of an electric mixer whip cream with organic granulated sugar until it forms stiff peaks.
• Set aside whipped cream.
• Cream butter.
• Add powdered sugar to butter and whip until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla extract and beat thoroughly.
• Add cocoa powder and beat until fluffy and smooth.
• Add in reduced coconut milk a little at a time.
• Fold in whipped cream.
• Frost cake decorate cake and place in the refrigerator.

Notes

Start reducing coconut milk before you make the cake to save time.

Nutrition

Calories: 981kcal | Carbohydrates: 107g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 62g | Saturated Fat: 44g | Cholesterol: 135mg | Sodium: 683mg | Potassium: 441mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 75g | Vitamin A: 1150IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 3.7mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it turned out for you! Scroll down to leave a comment below.

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