Base:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cup butter, melted
1 large egg
½ teaspoon almond extract
Topping:
2 large eggs
1½ cups frozen unsweetened grated coconut, thawed
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Garnish:
1 cup flake coconut for toasting
½ cup sliced almonds
Directions:
Preheat oven to 3500
Place cake mix, melted butter, egg and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Scrap sides of bowl. Batter will be thick. Spread batter evenly over the bottom of an un greased 13 x 9 in pan. Set aside.
For Topping:
Place the eggs in a medium size mixing bowl. Beat with a fork until they are lemon colored. Fold in the coconut. Pour the mixture over the crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle with chocolate chips on top.
Bake until the coconut mixture has set, 25-30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely - 1 hour.
Toast Coconut:
While bars are cooling, spread 1 cup flake coconut on a baking sheet and bake on 3500 for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Bake until lightly toasted. Cool.
When cake is cooled, cut into 24 bars – 4 X 6 (or for 48 smaller bars, cut 4 X 6 as directed, the cut each bar in half diagonally). Remove from pan and garnish each bar with a sprinkle of sliced almonds and toasted coconut - serve.
