Chocolate Coconut Cake

Hello friends! This isn’t your average Chocolate Coconut Cake. It’s a true Brazilian Brigadeiro Cake, filled with coconut brigadeiro and topped with rich chocolate brigadeiro — two layers of smooth, fudgy goodness that melt into the soft chocolate crumb. If you’ve never tried brigadeiro before, you’re about to understand why it’s a staple at every Brazilian celebration.

Brigadeiro is made from sweetened condensed milk, butter, and chocolate (or any flavor you want). It’s velvety, indulgent, and naturally fudgy, which means you don’t need powdered sugar to make frosting. For this recipe, I cook mine with a touch of heavy cream to keep it perfectly spreadable for layering and decorating.

Why you’ll love this cake

• It’s a true Brazilian Brigadeiro Cake, filled with coconut brigadeiro and frosted with silky chocolate brigadeiro.
• No powdered sugar frosting — just condensed milk, butter, chocolate (or coconut), and cream cooked into a naturally rich, fudgy topping.
• Ultra-moist chocolate crumb made with oil, extra cocoa, and sour cream for a softer, richer texture.
• Easy to assemble, forgiving to frost, and gorgeous even without a perfectly smooth finish.
• Perfect for celebrations, birthdays, or anytime you want a show-stopping chocolate cake with a twist.

The recipe

I’ve changed my cake batter this time a little bit from my previous chocolate cakes such as this Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake for example.

The changes are: using oil instead of butter, more cocoa powder, and substituting the milk for sour cream.

The results: a lighter softer cake, with a finer crumb. If you wish to have a tighter crumb, you can keep the butter instead of oil. The milk and sour cream are interchangeable, but I do believe the sour cream makes for a richer cake.

How to make it

The cake recipe is pretty straight forward. Mix all the wet ingredients such as sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla, and coffee (or hot water) together.

Then sift the dry ingredients into the bowl: sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and espresso powder if using. Whisk the batter until smooth.

Then divide amongst the cake pans. I used four 6″ cake pans, you can also use two 8″ pans instead. Make sure to line each pan with a piece of parchment paper and use spray oil to coat the pan. Alternatively you can spread butter all over the pans and coat them with flour.

The cakes get baked in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. Baking time really depends on your oven, the size and type of material of your baking pans, so for example, cakes bakes in aluminum take longer to bake than cakes baked in steel pans. Also, if you choose to bake the cakes in two 8″ pans instead of 6″ pans, they might take longer to bake because they are larger.

The brigadeiro

We usually roll brigadeiro into little balls and coat them in sprinkles. However, brigadeiro can also be used to frost cakes — you just need to add heavy cream while cooking it. Without the cream, brigadeiro is thick and fudgy, but the extra moisture makes it softer and much easier to spread between layers.

Brigadeiro is extremely versatile, and you can make it in any flavor you like.

Start by mixing the sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, butter, and chocolate together. I used dark chocolate callets by Callebaut, as I mentioned above. You can use milk chocolate, or really any type of chocolate you’d like. And you can also just use chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate. I prefer a good quality chocolate to make brigadeiro.

When we were kids we made brigadeiro with chocolate milk powder such as Nesquick, but as a grown up, I much rather use some good chocolate to make brigadeiro.

Cook the brigadeiro over medium heat while stirring non-stop. I can’t stress enough the “non-stop” part. Don’t stop stirring at all. The brigadeiro will for sure stick even if you stop stirring just for a few seconds. Also keep the heat medium or medium low.

If the heat is too high, the brigadeiro will cook too fast in some parts and become lumpy.

Also try to use a pan with a heavy bottom, because it also helps prevent scorching.

Time cooking varies depending on the thickness of the pan you are using, how many batches you are making, how high the heat is. For the brigadeiro frosting for this cake, I made a triple batch, so it took quite a bit of time, about 20 minutes.

Also, when making a double or triple batch, make sure to use a larger pan, otherwise the brigadeiro will bubble up and you’ll get burned, I speak from experience. Ouch!

How to know when it’s done cooking

The brigadeiro is done cooking when it’s coming off from the bottom of the pan, which means, if you tilt the pan, you can see the bottom. If you run your spatula through the middle of the pan, the mixture should take 5 to 10 seconds to incorporate back together. The brigadeiro needs to be quite thick and falling into chunks off the spatula, and not on a stream.

Tips for making brigadeiro

• Never stop stirring the brigadeiro while it’s cooking.
• Cook at medium or medium-low heat.
• Use a pan with a heavy sturdy bottom.
• Cook until you can see the bottom of the pan, and the brigadeiro is falling into chunks off the spatula.
• If you over cook, the brigadeiro will become too hard.
• If you cook at a high temperature, or using a thin pan, the brigadeiro will scorch and become lumpy.
• Adding heavy cream will help the brigadeiro be smoother and softer.
• Use a pan that’s big enough or the brigadeiro will bubble up and burn your arms.
• Don’t place the brigadeiro in the fridge or it will become too hard to be spread onto the cake.

Frosting and Assembling

When the brigadeiro is cooled down to room temperature completely, and when the cake layers are cooled down also, you can begin frosting and assembling the cake.

I put the brigadeiro in a piping bag and piped some brigadeiro around the edges of the cake. Then I spread the coconut brigadeiro in the center.

Repeat until all the layers are done. After the cake is assembled I like to place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, to make sure the filling is set, which will make the cake sturdier to be frosted.

Then use an offset spatula to spread the brigadeiro over the cake. And use a bench scraper to smooth it out as best as possible.

Position the spatula horizontally against the side of the cake, and spin the cake board around keeping the spatula in place.

Then pipe some brigadeiro on top. I also topped the cake with some coconut brigadeiro balls, aka beijinhos.

Mini Cakes

I made some mini cakes also to go with the large cake, using the exact same chocolate cake recipe. I just baked them in small cake tins instead.

And when decorating the mini cakes, I only did 3 layers of cake instead of 4. And I didn’t frost the mini cakes on the outside, I kept them naked cakes.

The mini chocolate coconut cakes were absolutely my favorite! They were delicious to eat in just a few bites. I topped the mini cakes with brigadeiro also, you can find a full brigadeiro tutorial here.

And just look at that filling!

I hope you enjoyed this Chocolate Coconut Cake recipe — it truly comes from the heart. If you love rich chocolate, creamy coconut, and the unmistakable flavor of brigadeiro, this Brazilian Brigadeiro Cake will win you over. It’s simple to make, incredibly delicious, and a perfect introduction to one of Brazil’s most beloved desserts.

In Brazil, it’s almost impossible to imagine a celebration cake without some form of brigadeiro in the filling, so this one feels especially true to my roots.

Chocolate Coconut Cake

Camila Hurst

Hello friends, today I will show you how to make a Chocolate Coconut Cake that is absolutely delicious! It is filled with coconut brigadeiro, and covered in chocolate brigadeiro. It is entirely possible to use brigadeiro as frosting for cake, and the results are amazing.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 hours hrs

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, brazilian

Servings 10 people

Calories 249 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Chocolate Cake

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 183 grams
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 60 grams
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp espresso powder optional* read notes
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 112 grams
• 1 cups sugar 200 grams
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sour cream 160 grams
• 2/3 cup hot brewed coffee 157 grams *read notes

Chocolate Brigadeiro

• 3-14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk 1188 grams
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Coconut Brigadeiro

• 2- 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk 792 grams
• 1 cup shredded coconut can be sweetened or unsweetened
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

 

Chocolate Cake

• This recipe makes for 4-6” round cakes, or 2-8” round cakes.
• Pre-heat oven to 350Fº.
• Grease 4-6″ cake pans and place a parchment paper circle in the bottom of pans. Grease the parchment. You can use spray oil or butter to grease the pans. Set aside.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder, if using. Set aside.
• Add the sour cream, eggs, oil, coffee, and vanilla extract to a bowl and whisk until combined.
• Add the sugar along with the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso).
• Whisk until incorporated, and a smooth batter is formed.
• Pour the batter evenly onto baking pans.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 min. After the 12 minute mark, keep checking regularly, because you don’t want to burn your cakes or over bake them. Remove them from the oven once a toothpick comes out clean once inserted in the cake.
• Once you remove it from the oven, wait 10 minutes, flip cakes onto a cookie cooling rack and let the cakes cool.
• Once cool, wrap each layer individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. I like to leave my layers in the fridge for quite a bit so they can firm up and make it easier to assemble and decorate the cake.

Chocolate Brigadeiro

• To make the brigadeiro, place the sweetened condensed milk, butter, heavy cream, and chocolate in a small saucepan.
• Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring nonstop. If you stop stirring, the fudge will stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the mixture is thick and fudgy and you can see the bottom of the pan when you run the spatula through the middle of the fudge. Remove to a bowl and let it cool completely.
• Don’t place it in the fridge before filling and frosting the cake, or the fudge will get too hard to be piped. The fudge can be kept at room temperature, covered, for up to 1 day.

Coconut Brigadeiro


• Mix all ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, shredded coconut, butter, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan.
• Over medium heat, stir the mixture without stopping, while you bring it to a boil.
• Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium low.
• Keep stirring non stop while it cooks.
• Don’t stop stirring the mixture, or the fudge will stick to the bottom of the pan.
• You should cook it for about 10 to 15 minutes. The longer you cook, the thicker it will become.
• To test if the fudge is ready, simply tilt the pan and if the mixture comes off from the bottom of the pan, you’re good to go. The fudge will look shiny and firm, it will drop in chunks from the spatula and not in a ribbon. If you run a spatula on the bottom of the pan, fudge will take about 5 seconds to come together again. You are looking for a very thick stage, but be careful not to overcook it, if you do overcook it, it will become super hard as it cools down.
• Remove the fudge to a buttered plate and let it cool down to room temperature. Don’t place it in the fridge or it will become too hard. The fudge can stay at room temperature for one to two days.

To assemble the cake

• Place the cake on a cake board. Trim the top to level the cake.
• I actually started brushing the cake with milk, because that’s how we used to make this cake back in Brazil, but I gave up on the brushing for the next layers, because the cake was already super moist, so I figured I’d skip the milk brushing. You can always brush your cakes with a simple syrup or milk if you want to.
• Pipe the brigadeiro around the edges of the cake. Then fill the center with the coconut brigadeiro. Place another layer on top and repeat.
• Put the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before frosting, that will help keep the cake sturdy because the brigadeiro is not a super soft frosting like buttercream for example, so you want the filling to be somewhat cold and solid.
• Use a spatula to spread the brigadeiro around the cake. Use a bench scraper to smooth out the cake. I used my offset spatula and held it on the side of the cake horizontally and spun the cake around to form the decoration on the side of the cake. Since it’s super hard to smooth out the brigadeiro completely, this helped with the looks of the cake.
• On top, I piped some brigadeiro and topped with some rolled out coconut brigadeiro balls.
• I also made mini cakes, using the exact same recipe, but baked in a small pan. I decorated pretty much the same way, but I didn’t frost the mini cakes on the outside, I just kept it a naked cake, with the brigadeiro piped into dots around the edges for decoration purposes, I thought it looked super cute this way.

Storage

• Store the cake in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months. Keep the cake covered in a container to prevent it from drying out.

Notes

Espresso powder: if using the coffee in the recipe, you can skip the espresso powder. Or you can skip the espresso and coffee altogether and just use the hot water instead if you don’t want to add any coffee to the cake. The cake won’t taste like coffee, this is just to help deepen the chocolate taste.

Coffee: you can use hot water instead of coffee in this recipe. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 249kcal

Keyword cake, chocolate, coconut

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