Chocolate Coconut Squares

Name: Chocolate Coconut Squares
Prep time: 11 min
Cook time: 19 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 100g Butter; 100g Caster Sugar; 2 Egg; 140g Self-raising Flour; 1 teaspoon Baking Powder; 2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder; 2 tablespoons Milk; 100g Plain Chocolate; 25g Butter; 100g Icing Sugar; 100g Desiccated Coconut

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with Australian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 44 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 30 min total

100g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
2 Egg
140g Self-raising Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder
2 tablespoons Milk
100g Plain Chocolate
25g Butter
100g Icing Sugar
100g Desiccated Coconut

Step-by-step instructions

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 20cm square baking tin. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, then beat in the eggs. Add 1 tbsp of the flour if the mix starts to curdle.
Sieve in the flour, baking powder and cocoa and fold in with a metal spoon. Stir in the milk. Scrape mix into the tin and level the top. Bake for 18-20 mins or until the cake springs back when pressed. Allow to cool in the tin.
To make the icing, put the chocolate, butter and 4 tbsp water in a pan and gently heat until melted. Allow to cool slightly, then beat in the icing sugar.
Remove cake from tin and peel away paper. Cut into 16 squares. Dip the squares into the icing, then roll in the coconut. Allow to set on cooling rack.

Why this works on a weeknight

Chocolate Coconut Squares genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Chocolate Coconut Squares actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert Australian ⚡ 30-Min Dinner