Today I share with you a recipe for a delicious Czech Gingerbread Cake with Coconut and Chocolate. The Czech Gingerbread Cake is known as perník and it is nothing else than a simple sheet cake with a traditional mix of spices such as cinnamon, anise, clove, allspice, and some others. I adapted the traditional recipe by adding some coconut, replacing part of the sugar with plum jam, and pouring a melted chocolate over it. So yummy!
Believe me, this is one of the simplest AND most delicious sheet cakes you can make! Once you have the spice mix, everything goes pretty fast. We like to enjoy this cake with a cup of coffee or tea. I also love to share this treat around with friends and colleagues. It has a lot of success even among my compatriots during the Czech Fashion and Design Weekend in Brussels.
When we were kids, my mom used to make perník one from time to time on Sunday night so that we had some sweet treat for breakfast at the beginning of the week. How many times I woke up, arrived in the kitchen and smelled this yummy cake. This made it easier for us to get over the Monday mornings. 😉
This recipe copies the traditional recipe for Czech gingerbread cake called perník and brings the coconut flavor into it. We usually add some raisins and walnuts, but I also love to add some shredded coconut and replace the classic oil with coconut oil. Recently, I have started to bake with coconut oil and I really like to use it more and more. Coconut oil contains about 90% of saturated fatty acids of a medium length and these are metabolized as a quick source of energy instead of being stocked. It is also believed to be able to kill harmful microorganisms, improve blood cholesterol levels and to have much more effects on our health. Doesn´t this just sound great? 😉
So here is the recipe if you would like to make this delicious Czech gingerbread cake with coconut and chocolate. Enjoy! Tell me, do you like to bake with coconut oil?
- 400 g all purpose flour
- 1 baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tbsp. pernik spice mix
- 3 tbsp. cacao powder
- 2 eggs
- 250 g sugar
- 3 tbsp. plum jam diluted with 2 tbsp. rum
- 160 ml coconut oil (150 g)
- 400 ml milk
- 50 g shredded coconut
- handful raisins
- handful walnuts
- 160 g good quality dark chocolate
- 80 ml heavy cream
- 30 g butter
- 30 g shredded coconut for sprinkle
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line the baking sheet with a parchment paper or simply grease and flour it.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour with baking powder, baking soda, cacao, and spice mix. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the eggs with sugar, add plum jam diluted with rum, coconut oil, and milk. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix until all combined well. Add shredded coconut, raisins, and walnuts.
- Pour the batter on the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the melted chocolate: Warm the cream in a microwave. Break the chocolate and place it with butter in a bain marie. Pour the cream over it, stirring until all melted and combined.
- Pour the chocolate over the sheet cake and allow to cool. Sprinkle with shredded coconut and place in a fridge for 1-2 hours.
- Serve and enjoy!
Have you tried this recipe?
Let me know how it turned out or share a photo on Instagram with a hashtag #1001voyagesgourmands. I will be happy to hear from you! ? If you like the recipe, please share it on social media!