Chocolate and Coconut Coated Mini Heart Cakes

Imagine a moist and chewy golden cake coated in sweet melted chocolate that’s then rolled in coconut flakes. Yes, it may just be heaven on a plate.

This delicious dessert recipe, also known as cupavce, is one of our favorites and one that our mom makes often. Although it seems complicated it’s super easy to bake and is the best sweet treat for a potluck, when you’re going to visit friends or other special events (e.g. wedding shower, baby shower, birthday). Since they’re so simple to make, you can also have them for any day: my kids love them as a treat in their school lunches every once in a while.

You basically make one sheet cake which is then cut into smaller pieces which are individually coated. You can make the pieces any size or shape that you’d like. Mom usually cut them into two-bite sized rectangles but for Valentines day we’ve made them into little hearts which are the perfect single-sized mini cakes to share with your sweetie.

Best of all these easy chocolate and coconut handmade desserts freeze really well so you can make a double batch, freeze them in an air-tight bag or container, and then just thaw our before serving for that unexpected company that stops by. I actually love to eat them half-frozen to satisfy my afternoon sweet tooth.

How to Make Easy Chocolate and Coconut Coated Mini-Cakes

Ingredients to make the white cake:

• 2/3 cups of softened (NOT melted) butter
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup of milk at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose or cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

Ingredients to make the chocolate and coconut coating:

• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 1 cup dark baking chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup of butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 pkgs coconut flakes (or shredded coconut for a finer texture)

Directions for baking the white cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9″x13″ glass baking dish.
3. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar.
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time on low speed until fully blended.
5. Combine the baking powder with the flour.
6. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry mixture to the mixer, alternating with the milk until fully combined.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 15-18 minutes until top starts to turn golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over-bake or the cake will dry out.

Let the cake cool completely before moving on to the next step.

Directions for coating the mini-cakes:

1. Cut the cooled white cake into desired shape either with a knife (to make squares of rectangles) or using a heart-shaped cookie cutter.
2. In a medium-sized pot over medium temperature, slowly warm up and stir together the sugar, milk and chocolate. Stir constantly until all the ingredients have melted together and the mixture has thickened. Add more chocolate if the mixture feels very runny.
3. Take off the heat and stir in butter until melted. Let the chocolate mixture cool slightly until it’s a comfortable temperature to work with.
4. Add half a cup of coconut onto a clean plate.
5. Using a pair of forks, dip one piece of cake into the chocolate mixture until fully coated. Roll the coated piece of cake in the coconut. Continue with the remaining cake pieces.