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Bounty chocolate bars can be quite devisive - people seem to either love or hate coconut in desserts! Seen as you've found your way here, I'm going to assume you're a coconut lover and that you enjoy it as much as I do! Well you are going to love this delicious and easy to make Bounty Chocolate & Coconut Loaf Cake. It's a moist chocolate cake with desiccated coconut throughout, a coconut buttercream, and it's topped with chunks of Bounty bar. Loaf cakes are so easy to make and simple to decorate. I love making them and it seems that you all agree as my loaf cake recipes are very popular - I hope you enjoy this one too!

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Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
For the best flavour, make sure to use a good quality coconut extract for the buttercream, I recommend avoiding using an essence. I used this coconut extract. You can also use a vanilla extract if you can't get hold of a coconut one.
I used a baking spread for the cake and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
You can use any cocoa powder for this cake, of course the better quality it is, the better flavour it will have. Also do make sure you are using cocoa powder and not a hot chocolate powder.
You will need a 2lb loaf tin for this recipe (you can test the size of your loaf tin by seeing how much water the tin can hold, 2lb will hold about 2 pints/1100ml of water). If you have a 1lb loaf tin, simply halve the ingredient amounts.
For easy lining of the tin, use a loaf cake tin liner.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50).
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Bounty Chocolate & Coconut Loaf Cake

To make the sponge mix together caster sugar and butter, then whisk in eggs and milk. Then add self raising flour, cocoa powder and desiccated coconut, and mix in.

Pour the batter into a loaf tin and bake it for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool fully. Decorate with coconut buttercream and chopped up Bounty bars.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How should the cake be stored and can it be frozen?

The cake should be stored in an airtight container in a cool place, and eaten within 3 days. If you would like to freeze it, you can freeze the whole cake or freeze it in slices. Once it has fully cooled, wrap the cake or slices well in cling film (plastic wrap), or place in an airtight container with squares of baking paper between the slices, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Can you make this loaf cake with plain/all purpose flour?

Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some additional baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. So for this recipe you'd need to add 2 teaspoons baking powder. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.

Can this loaf cake be made gluten or dairy free?

Yes! For gluten free you can replace the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add 2 teaspoons baking powder. You may also like to add ¼ tsp xanthan gum for better texture. For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking spread and a dairy free milk for the cake and the buttercream. You will also need to use a dairy free alternative to Bounty bars, such as Nomo's Coconut Chocolate Bar, Buttermilk's Coconut Choccy Bar or Roobar's Chocolate Covered Coconut Bar. Please do check the labels for everything you use to make the cake if you are serving it to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Can this cake be made into cupcakes or mini loaf cakes?

Yes, head to my Bounty Chocolate & Coconut Cupcakes for the details! You can also split the mixture into mini loaf cases in a mini loaf tin. I would recommend using two mini loaf tins as this recipe will make around 16-18 mini loaves. Or you can halve this recipe to make less. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until risen and a thin skewer or cocktail stick inserted in the centre of one of the mini loaves comes out clean.

More tips for making the Bounty Chocolate & Coconut Loaf Cake:

You can spread the buttercream onto the loaf cake with a spoon if you don’t want to pipe it.
If you can't get hold of coconut extract for the buttercream, you can use vanilla extract instead.
If you don’t want to decorate the cake with buttercream, I recommend drizzling some melted chocolate all over it and either adding Bounty bar chunks or sprinkling desiccated coconut over it.

Troubleshooting

My number one tip for getting the best results is to read through this whole page of tips and recommendations before starting, and follow the recipe exactly. If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

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