I usually bake my own birthday cake, because then I get just what I want. This year I used a tried and true easy chocolate cake recipe I found on the label of a box of Hershey’s cocoa, but made lots of changes: sifted whole wheat flour for white flour, coconut oil for butter, halved the sugar, and added dried coconut. Somehow, my husband and I ate the entire 9x13” cake in four days! It is so good, it may become my birthday cake every year. For the recipe, see my food blog:

http://cookinginmexico.com/2011/03/25/coconut-chocolate-cake/

Beautiful cake, Kathleen!  Looks and sounds soooo yummy!  You know, I normally don’t like oil cakes, but I’ll have to remember I can sub coconut oil in them instead of butter if the coconut would go with them!  Thanks for the tip!!!!!!!

Coconut oil solidifies below 74-76 deg. F., so is somewhat between butter and oil in the consistency it brings to baking. I am using it instead of butter in other baking recipes with great success—brownies, muffins and quick bread. My next experiment will be using it in pie crust. When a recipe calls for solid butter or shortening, I use chilled coconut oil in its hard form. When it calls for oil, I warm the coconut oil first until it is liquid.

Raw honey works the same way—it’s solid at room temp, so it’s a good thing to use in “regular” frostings instead of powdered sugar.
I love the coconut oil idea!!!!!

I recently bought some coconut oil - have only used it with popcorn so far. should it be stored at room temp or in the fridge?

I like the fact that you used whole wheat flour.  I’d like to try this cake.  You said you halved the sugar; does that mean I can use 200 gr of sugar in this recipe?  I don’t have coconut oil. Can I use butter or oil? How much?

Thanks

I hope you had a happy birthday.

How healthy is coconut oil in comparison to butter? Anyone know?

omg yum looks like a brownie mmm

Kathleen,
Hope that you had a great Birthday! Your Chocolate Coconut cake looks terrific!

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone. I’m still celebrating—today is the last day of birthday month.

Flour Girl, the recipe on my blog gives the measurements I used, so yes, use 200 grams of sugar (the original recipe called for 400 grams, way to much for my taste). If you don’t have coconut oil, use vegetable oil. Use the same amount as my recipe calls for—1/2 cup or .12 ml.

Necho, coconut oil got a bad rap in the 1970s when it was compared to other oils in tests. Later, it was revealed that the tests used hydrogenated coconut oil, never healthy, regardless of the type of oil. Coconut oil contains no cholesterol. It does contain saturated fat (so does butter), but the saturated fat is lauric acid, a fat now believed to be healthy when added to diets. Look for organic virgin coconut oil that is not refined, bleached or deodorized (RBD).

Kathleen that is a beauty! I love the photo too, so elegant Happy Happy Birthday To You!