Like many of us, my darling husband is a huge fan of chocolate - so much so, that back in 2012, I penned a post in honour of his birthday featuring ten different scrumptious vintage chocolate dessert recipes. Hop ahead four years - how time flies! - and we're once again on the precipice of Tony's birthday. In fact, it's tomorrow!
Yes, indeedy, August 6th is the big day and will, this time around, see Tony turn 36 years old (and to think that we met when he was just a young whippersnapper of 23!). Naturally this means that I've been on the hunt for a seriously tasty sweet treat or two to make for my precious man, and as such, chocolate filled recipes have been high on my list of contenders.
Of those that I've hit upon in recent weeks, this delightful looking recipe for Chocolate Coconut Marble Bars is by far one of my favourites. We're both huge marble cake fans (as discussed here), so a variation on this classic dish that includes another ingredient (coconut) that we both go wild for seems like it could be a surefire hit.
I often find coconut recipes lend themselves very, very nicely to being made in gluten-free form, too (I think the natural starches and sugars in the coconut have a bit of binding agent, which is usually hugely helpful in GF baking as one is not working with the "gluey-ness" of gluten), which means that I could indulge in these lovely bars as well if I made them as such (yippee!).
{Quick, budget friendly, and the perfect choice for any birthday (or tiki!) party, weekday dessert, school or work lunch box treat, or simple midday pick-me-up, these awesome vintage Chocolate Marble Bars are sure to be a big hit with any one who enjoys the tropical treat that is coconut. Vintage recipe image source. Click here to view a larger, easier to read version of this ad.}
Of course, if coconut isn't your bag - to borrow a great expression from our friends in the UK - you can always leave it out.
If doing so, I might sub in some slivered or chopped nuts, dried fruit (cherries, strawberries, raspberries, or bananas could all be especially fabulous here), candied citrus peel, baking chips (peanut butter or butterscotch would be a lovely pairing), or up the chocolate factor with chunks or pieces of your favourite baking variety - you could even introduce marshmallows, which would give this recipe a bit of a s'mores meets rocky road quality.
Given that we're still very, very much in throws of summer, I'd be mighty inclined to dish up thick slabs of this awesome 1950s desert with a generous helping of ice cream, sorbet, or chilled sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche. Chocolate, strawberry, black cherry, raspberry ripple, pineapple, orange, lemon, caramel, coffee/mocha, peach, vanilla (French or regular), mint chocolate chip, peanut butter, almond, or coconut would all be excellent flavour pairings with the classic combo of chocolate and coconut.
{Cute vintage birthday card image source}
Happiest birthday wishes, my love!
And a very happy first weekend of August to each and every one of you, dear friends!
