I hope you are ready to drool a little bit…

Let me introduce you to my Samoa Dream {cup} Cake. This sexy mama is filled with all of the goodness that you would find in a Samoa Girl Scout cookie and MORE!

This weekend I entered a cupcake contest and this was my entry. Out of 27 contestants, my cake did not win but it certainly won over the taste buds of my taste testers, my hubby and myself!

Here is the breakdown:

Chocolate Coconut Cake
+
Chewy Caramel Sauce
+
Salty Caramel Buttercream
+
Toasted Coconut
+
Chocolate Ganache
=
Dreamy Goodness!

The best part of a Samoa cookie is the chewy caramel that it is smothered in — you can’t really eliminate the chewy goodness if you wanted to!

And then of course the crunchy toasted coconut and creamy chocolate ganache that perfectly balance out all of the flavors, so not to overwhelm the cake with pure caramel. This combo of Chocolate, Caramel & Coconut is perfect!

And this is the final result! Beautiful? Yes. Tastey? Yes. Everything you could hope for from one sweet cake? Absolutely!

Okay, so now you have seen it, drooled over it (I am assuming!), but now it is time for you to make it! Check out my recipe below and let me know your thoughts!

Samoa Dream Cakes

Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

2 cups flour
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk

Whisk together the flour and cocoa powder. Cream together the butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, vanilla, and coconut extract until fluffy, approx. 3-4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scrapingdown sides of bowl as needed. With mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients in three batches,alternating with the milk. Beat just until combined. Fill cupcake liners just under 1/2 full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake at 350 for 15-16 minutes.

Caramel Layer:

1 bag caramel candies
1.5 tablespoons milk

Melt the caramel candies and milk in a bowl in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Once completely melted, allow to sit and thicken slightly (approx. 5 minutes). Pour a ¼” thick layer over eachof the cupcakes and allow to set.

Caramel Frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping
3 Tablespoons milk
6 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter and brown sugar together in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add vanilla, salt,caramel syrup, milk until combined. Begin adding in the sugar slowly and mixing thoroughly after each addition. Beat for about 4 minutes until smooth. Pipe a spiral of frosting over the caramel layer.

Chocolate Ganache:

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Stir cream and chocolate chips on a double boiler (or use a metal bowl on top of a saucepan of boilingwater) until melted. Add vanilla and stir to mix. Let cool to room temperature. Toast the coconut on a sheet pan at 350°F, stirring frequently, until the coconut is an even brown color, about 10 minutes.

Drizzle the frosted cupcakes with melted chocolate and garnish with toasted coconut.