This week is the third week of the baking challenge that I sort of started by accident two weeks ago. The first week, if you recall, the premium billing department at my work gave me the challenge to cook with dark chocolate and craisin. These cookies were the result. Then last week, my co-worker Sean, reppin’ the enrollment department, picked strawberries. So I made these bars. This week, the secret ingredient was chosen by my friends, Shea and Cashel, who work in the sales department with me. I knew that I had to give them a chance to have a say, in some way, because they are two of the biggest supporters of my baked goods! I can always count on them to try out my stuff and give me feed back, which I always appreciate it! So the ingredient they chose was coconut.

Yeah, I sort of kicked this challenge’s ass!

I ended up making Almond Joy Cake Balls and there is coconut in every part of this little dessert! The cake is a coconut cake with coconut extract and shredded coconut. Then, instead of adding frosting to the crumbled up cake to form the balls, I added coconut milk AND condensed coconut milk (which I made from scratch). THEN, for the chocolate shell, I added coconut oil to the melted chocolate, which helped thin it out and make it shiny…plus, added more coconut flavor!

Like I said, coconut in every part of this dessert!

Coconut Condensed Milk
from Veganbaking.net

2 ¾ cups non-dairy milk (you can use soy, almond, coconut, etc. I used coconut)
½ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the “milk” and the sugar in a slow cooker. Set for high and cook for 7 hours, leaving uncovered the whole time. You should have 1 cup of condensed milk when you are done. Transfer to a bowl to allow to cool. Once cool, whisked in the vanilla extract.

If it cooks down too much, you can add water and food process it until you have 1 cup.

*this can also be done on the stove top. Go to veganbaking.net for the full instructions on that.

Coconut Cake
from Vegan Thyme
makes 2 9-inch round cakes

3 sticks unsalted vegetable margerine (cut into cubes and bring to room temp)
2 cups sugar

5  Ener-G Egg Replace “eggs”
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Line two 9″ cake pans with parchment paper, then spray with non-stick baking spray.

Prepare the dry ingredients in a medium bowl–the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk well to combine. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature margerine and sugar and beat on medium speed for about five minutes until the mixture is very light and very fluffy. Next, mix together the egg replacer powder with the water. Now, add this to the sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add the extracts to this and mix well. Next, alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, starting and ending with flour- it should be about three flour additions and 2 milk additions. Fold in the shredded coconut to the batter with a spoon.

Next, spread the batter in the cake pans.  Bake for 45 minutes. The edges of the cake should be golden brown in color and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool completely. I made them in the morning and let them cool all afternoon. If you don’t let the cakes cook completely, the won’t crumble properly when your making th cake balls.

Almond Joy Cake Balls
adapted from Taste and Tell Blog
makes around 60 cake balls

1 batch of the above coconut cake, cooled
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup condensed coconut milk
about 2 bags of vegan dark chocolate
1-2 tsp of coconut oil (*see note below)
60ish whole almonds (optional)
shredded coconut (optional)

Crumble the cooled coconut cake into a large bowl. Add the coconut milk and the condensed coconut milk to the bowl. With your hands, mix the ingredients in the bowl together until they are well combined. Roll into balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 1 hour.

Melt the chocolate and the coconut oil in a double boiler on the stove. Roll the chilled cake balls in melted chocolate and place back on the parchment paper. Sprinkle with shredded coconut and top with a whole almond. Return to the fridge until read to serve.

*note: the coconut oil is a must for making this taste like an almond joy. It’s super delicious. Unfortunately, it also prevents the chocolate from staying hard. If you leaves these out in the open for too long, the chocolate gets really soft, which means you get it all over your hands and mouth. If you anticipate putting these out at a party for a long period of time or bringing them someplace where you can’t store them in the fridge, I would recommend using vegetable shortening. They still taste really good, the shell just doesn’t quite channel the almond joy that way.

Aren’t they so cute?! I know that isn’t the point of a dessert but it certainly adds to it! I liked these because they aren’t as sweet as the traditional cake pop recipe which is box caked + canned frosting = cake pop. 1. Hello preservatives, chemicals and non-vegan ingredients and 2. they are just so sweet! This recipe really lets the cake shine, as opposed to having it masked by frosting. Also, the melted chocolate and coconut oil is SO good.

How cute do they look with their little mini cupcake liners? They would be great as a gift, placed in a cute box. A much more creative, tasty solution to boxed chocolates!