My Grandmother used to make these coconut tarts when I was growing up. They were my favorite thing that she would make. I’m still surprised that a coconut tart really appealed to me that much as a kid. I find that a lot of kids don’t like coconut. Heck, even a good number of adults. Coconut, nuts, butterscotch… it’s the kind of flavor that isn’t commonly accepted and welcomed with enthusiasm. Not like chocolate or peanut butter. Anyways, I adored coconut in all forms- almond joys, mounds, virgin piña coladas, and most of all, my Grandmother’s coconut tarts. One day I will share the recipe with you. But not today. Today I am here to take about these Black Bottom Coconut Bars.
The coconut topping of these bars reminds me soooo much of my Grandmother’s tarts (that’s why I brought them up). The ingredients are almost identical- both include sweetened shredded coconut, sugar, eggs, butter, and flour. The ratios are far different though. These have a much higher portion of flour and the original recipe actually calls for no butter. NO butter. Can you believe it? When I read that I thought to myself, “how dry…” So I rebelled and added 1/4 stick (2 Tb), just out of curiosity. Even with the small bit of butter that I added, the topping was drier than I would have liked, especially when compared to how moist my Grandmother’s is. So I doubled the butter, making it a good 1/2 stick (1/4 cup). Much better. Chewy, moist, and flavorful. Exactly what I was looking for.
Now the bottom of these bars is like a very thin brownie. When I first read the recipe title I assumed it would be like an Oreo crust, but nope. It’s basically a brownie. Or a dense chocolate cake I guess. Be careful not to bake it too long during the pre-bake because it goes back in a second time with the coconut topping. If you do so then there shouldn’t be any problems with it being dry. Mine came out awesome.
So the whole thing together- chewy, coconutty topping and chocolatey brownie crust. Talk about heaven for us coconut lovers! Assuming that all coconut lovers love the chocolate pairing of course… Really very proud of this recipe. I drizzled them with a little melted chocolate so they’d be especially alluring and brought them to a church luncheon. A HIT!
- For Chocolate Base:
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- For Coconut Topping:
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 Tb (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
- 1 package sweetened shredded coconut (7 ounces), ½ cup reserved for sprinkling
- For chocolate base: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang; butter bottom and sides of foil (not overhang).
- Place butter in a large microwave-safe bowl; melt in microwave. Add sugar and salt; whisk to combine. Whisk in egg, then cocoa and flour until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan.
- Bake just until sides begin to pull away from edges of pan, 10 to 15 minutes (do not overbake). Let cool slightly while preparing coconut topping. Keep oven on for topping.
- For coconut topping: In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla. Whisk in the butter. Gently mix in flour and coconut (except ½ cup reserved for sprinkling).
- Drop mounds of mixture over chocolate base; spread and pat in gently and evenly with moistened fingers. Sprinkle with reserved ½ cup coconut.
- Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Lift cake from pan, peel off foil, and cut into 24 bars.
Adapted with revisions from Martha Stewart
Tagged as:
bars,
chocolate,
coconut,
dessert