Coconut isn’t a typical Hungarian ingredient, but there are a few Hungarian recipes that call for shredded coconut. One of those is coconut cubes. Many people think, wrongly, that those cubes are made of a simple sponge cake; however, their base is a soft honey cake. Sour cream is the key element that makes the cake light and fluffy, so it won’t be dry and choking, which are the earmarks of bad coconut cubes. The batter doesn’t contain coconut, it’s just used for the coating. The cubes are dipped into a hot chocolate sauce and rolled into shredded coconut.
photo: zserbo.com
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 1 egg + 2 egg yolks
- 4 tbsp honey
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 40 g (~2 tbsp) lard
- 200 g (~7 oz) sour cream
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 350 g (~2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
For the chocolate sauce:
- 150 g (~2/3 cup) butter
- 200 ml (~3/4 cup) milk
- 40 g (~1/3 cup) cocoa powder
- 80 g (~6 tbsp) sugar
For the coating:
- 200 g (~2 2/3 cups) shredded coconut
Size of the baking pan: 39×24 cm (15×9 inch)
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F. Grease and flour a baking pan.
Beat the egg and egg yolks with sugar and honey. Mix in lard, salt and sour cream, then add flour combined with baking powder. Pour the batter into the baking pan, place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let the cake cool completely, and cut into 2×2 inch cubes.
Place butter, milk, cocoa powder and sugar in a saucepan, and bring it to a boil while stirring constantly.
Stick the cubes with a fork, dip them into the hot sauce and roll them into shredded coconut.
