Bounty Cake Recipe – Chocolate Coconut Cake

Step-by-step recipe

1. The chocolate and coconut Bounty cake is a delicious dessert that keeps in the fridge for several days. It is wonderful with a cappuccino or a cup of hot cocoa. There is nothing difficult about making it: an ordinary chocolate sponge with cocoa or grated chocolate, a simple coconut cream that doesn't even need cooking, and a little time to assemble the cake and spread the cream over the layers.
2. Baking the chocolate sponge
3. To bake the sponge, we use a 21 cm round springform pan. After baking, it opens easily and the sponge comes out cleanly without any damage. Take the eggs out of the fridge in advance so they come to room temperature. Get the wheat flour, a little cornstarch, sugar and dark cocoa powder ready.
   
4. For this dessert we don't add chocolate to the sponge – cocoa is enough. Sift the flour, cornstarch and cocoa into a deep bowl. Add baking powder to the dry mix – the amount recommended on the package or a little more. Stir the dry ingredients with a fork and set the bowl aside for now. The mix should be ready by the time you make the batter.
   
5. Crack the eggs into the mixer bowl – make sure no bits of shell get in. To mask the taste and smell of the yolks, we usually add lemon zest to sponge batter. This time we use vanilla – a few drops of vanilla extract or some vanilla sugar. Add the sugar and vanilla to the eggs, then beat the mixture slowly at medium speed. The sugar should dissolve completely, and the mixture should turn foamy and increase greatly in volume.
   
6. When the egg foam has increased 2-3 times in volume and turned very pale, add all of the dry mix and blend with the mixer on low speed until smooth. Make sure there are no lumps – the sponge batter should be completely smooth and coffee-colored. By the way, don't overmix the batter – air bubbles will form, and you don't want them at all.
   
7. Preheat the oven to 180-190 °C. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease it, along with the sides of the pan, with a small piece of butter. Pour all the batter into the pan and give it a gentle shake to level the surface. Put it in the oven to bake.
   
8. The sponge rises a lot as it bakes – don't fill the pan more than halfway up the side. Doneness is easy to check with a toothpick: pierce the sponge straight down, and no raw batter should stick to the wood. Baking time is 25-45 mins, depending on the thickness of the batter. Take the baked sponge out of the pan and let it cool. Then peel off the paper stuck to the bottom – it comes away easily.
   
9. Trim off the top of the sponge and a thin layer from the sides – these scraps can be used for the topping: the finished Bounty cake can be covered with glaze and sprinkled with coconut flakes, sponge crumbs or grated chocolate. As a rule, this dessert uses two or three layers, as you prefer. That gives you either one thick layer of coconut cream or two thinner ones. Decide for yourself which you like better.
   
10. Making the coconut cream and soaking syrup
11. Start with the soaking syrup, since it needs to cool. Bring 150 ml of water to a boil, dissolve 1 tbsp of sugar in it and squeeze in a little lemon or orange juice. Add the liqueur – coconut or any cream liqueur works, and orange liqueur will do at a pinch. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, pour the syrup into a cup and let it cool. Get all the ingredients for the coconut cream ready.
    
12. Desiccated coconut is usually sold as fairly coarse flakes. Many recipes advise grinding it or buying a finer grade. But remember, the candy bars contain precisely those large flakes of coconut flesh. So, heat the milk in a small saucepan and add the sugar; it needs to dissolve.
    
13. Add the condensed milk to the mixture – it is quite sweet and thick. Stir so the sugar and condensed milk blend with the milk. Then, stirring constantly, pour in the desiccated coconut. The mixture thickens a lot and looks like a stiff porridge. Keep stirring and heat the coconut cream for 2-3 mins, then take it off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Don't put the cream in the fridge – the butter may harden.
    
14. Assembling the Bounty cake
15. It is very convenient to assemble the cake in a cake ring of the right size – the cream isn't runny and doesn't spread easily, so it has to be distributed carefully to the size of the layers. That said, you can also do it on a cake stand or in the same pan the sponge was baked in. Set the ring on a plate or board. Lay down the bottom layer. Then soak it with the cooled syrup using a spoon – divide the syrup by the number of layers you've decided on.
    
16. Spread some of the coconut cream over the layer. If you are using two layers – a bottom and a top one – spread all of the cream. If you have three layers, spread half, then level it with a spatula and press it down lightly. It is important that the coconut cream reaches right to the edge of the sponge layer.
    
17. Place the next layer on top. Soak it with syrup and spread the rest of the coconut cream over it. Then cover it with the last layer, which also needs to be soaked. Press the cake down lightly so all the layers of cream and sponge lie evenly and snugly against each other.
    
18. Making the chocolate glaze
19. You need to make a ganache – a chocolate mixture used to coat cakes, desserts and pastries. It is quick and easy. Heat some milk, or cream, in a small saucepan. Break a bar of chocolate with 80% cocoa or more into pieces and drop them into the hot milk. When the chocolate has melted, stir the mixture – it will be fairly thick and sticky. Then add a small piece of butter.
    
20. Cover the top of the cake with the glaze. If you want the cake smooth and glossy, pour the glaze so it spreads out. But as a rule, Bounty cake is sprinkled with either desiccated coconut or sponge crumbs. Or, which looks pretty, the crumbs and coconut are mixed together for a nicely speckled look. While the glaze is still soft, sprinkle the crumbs over the top of the cake, pressing them in lightly. After that, the ring or pan can be removed.
    
21. Put the finished cake in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. The coconut cream is quite dense and won't soak into the layers – it just needs to set. Usually the cake is made the evening before, so it is ready by morning. The layers of the cake show very clearly on the sides – they are sharply defined.
    
22. The finished cake slices easily with a large knife – the layers don't get squashed. The amounts given make a dessert weighing 1.8-1.9 kg – enough for 6-8 people, just right for a tea party. If you like, cut the cake into individual portions, place them in paper cups and serve them that way.
    
23. There are many ways to make the cream. One of them is mixing desiccated coconut with Italian mascarpone cream cheese. You can also make the cream with coconut milk or cream – the aroma and flavor will be more intense. Gelatin is often added to the cream, and the edges of the layers are sometimes even coated with jelly.