I love recipes that can be made without prep or planning. Shopping for ingredients is always fun but once in a while it’s nice to be able to make something with regular pantry ingredients. One-bowl recipes make life so much easier. The last thing you want to do in winter is wash heaps of dishes. And the one thing in winter that you love to do is use the oven.

This recipe is all of the above and tastes amazing. I discovered chocolate and coconut as a combination only recently. Individually I’ve cooked or baked with both for as long as I can remember. Put together in a slice or bar, I found it hard to stop eating them.

Technically, there is no chocolate in the recipe however it tastes as good as chocolate. They are fudgy almost like brownies but not soft. They have a great texture and the icing makes them really indulgent.

Chocolate and Coconut Slice (adapted with variation from Taste.com)
Yields 16 slices

150g butter, melted, cooled
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup desiccated coconut

Chocolate Icing
1 cup icing sugar mixture
1/4 cup cocoa powder
20g butter, finely chopped
2 tbsp. boiling water

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 20cm x 30cm rectangular pan and line with baking paper extending paper 2cm from edge of pan at long ends.
Place butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir until well combined. Sift over flours and cocoa. Add 1/2 cup coconut. Stir to combine. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until firm to touch

Make Chocolate icing: Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a medium heatproof bowl. Add butter and boiling water. Stir until smooth. Spread hot slice with icing. Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Set aside to cool completely in pan. Cut into pieces. Serve.