Kärleksmums (Swedish Love Cake)

A recipe for Kärleksmums (Swedish Love Cake)! This chocolate sheet cake is covered with a decadent chocolate coffee frosting and a sprinkling of shredded coconut.

Foodie Extravaganza

Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly party hosted by bloggers who love food! Each month we incorporate one main ingredient or theme from The Nibble into recipes to share with you.

Today, Caroline of Caroline’s Cooking chose to celebrate Coffee Cake. Other foods celebrated in April include Grilled Cheese, Soft Pretzel, Chocolate Mousse, Garlic, Cheese Fondue, and Caramel.

Kärleksmums (Swedish Love Cake)

I am joining today’s event with a recipe for Kärleksmums. This delightful cake goes by many names from Kärleksmums (literally love yums/love treats) to Mockarutor (Mocha Squares), Snoddas, and Chokladrutor (Chocolate Squares).

It is an especially perfect treat for Fika (Swedish coffee break) with a light chocolate sponge base covered with a layer of chocolate coffee frosting and a generous sprinkling of shredded coconut.

I cut the Kärleksmums simply into individual squares, but have also seen them as hearts to celebrate Alla hjärtans dag (Valentine’s Day).

A Few Kärleksmums Tips

Do not pack in the flour when measuring or you may end up with too much. To measure flour, gently spoon it into the measuring cup and level with a knife without pressing down. The most accurate way to measure is by weight.

Once you add the flour mixture to the batter, mix just until combined with no streaks remaining.

If using salted butter, decrease the amount of salt to just a pinch.

Bake the cake just until set through the center. Over-baking may create a tough texture. In my conventional oven, 30 minutes was perfect.

Do not make the frosting until ready to spread over the top of the cooled cake. It will start to set quickly.

Sprinkle the coconut across the top immediately after spreading the frosting.

After the frosting has set and the cake cut into the squares, leftovers can be wrapped or stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Don’t love chocolate? Silviakaka is similar in style, but has a vanilla sponge cake and yellow frosting with the coconut on top.

Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla sugar (Vaniljsocker) adds a wonderful light vanilla flavor to the cake. You can buy small packets of vanilla sugar in the European section of many larger supermarkets, but it is easy to make at home.

Scrape out the seeds of one vanilla bean and mix well with 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar. Store in an airtight container with the scraped out vanilla beans.

If not available, swap for 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.

Check out what everyone else made:

• Almond Raspberry Cake by Food Lust People Love
• Coffee Cake Cookies by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• A Coffee Cake in a Jiffy by Our Good Life
• Coffee Cake Muffins by I’m Hungry
• Kärleksmums (Swedish Love Cake) by Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Orange Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins by Making Miracles

This recipe was originally posted in April 2016 and updated in January 2026 with slight adjustments, metric measurements, and new photos.

Kärleksmums (Swedish Love Cake) Recipe

Adapted from Nami-Nami

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Kärleksmums (Swedish Love Cake)

A recipe for Kärleksmums (Swedish Love Cake)! This chocolate sheet cake is covered with a decadent chocolate coffee frosting and a sprinkling of shredded coconut.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Swedish

Keyword cake, chocolate, coconut, coffee, coffee cake, Sweden, Swedish

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 1 (9×13 inch) cake

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cup (250 grams) granulated sugar
• 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
• 2/3 cup (160 milliliters) whole milk
• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons (42 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

• 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
• 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) freshly brewed espresso or strong coffee
• 3 tablespoons (21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar sifted
• dried unsweetened shredded coconut for topping

Instructions

To make the chocolate cake:

• Preheat the (conventional) oven to 350˚F (180˚C) with the oven rack placed in the center.
• Line a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 centimeter) pan with at least 2 inch (5 centimeter) tall sides with a sheet of parchment or grease with butter and a dusting of flour.
• In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk in the melted butter and milk.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla sugar, and salt.
• Sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture and fold until just combined with no streaks of flour remaining.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading lightly to create an even layer reaching all the way to the corners.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the center springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
• Allow the cake to cool for about 30 minutes in the pan before covering with the frosting.

To make the topping:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter and coffee.
• Whisk in the cocoa powder, vanilla sugar, and powdered sugar. It may seem thin at first, but the consistency should thicken slightly as you continue to whisk and the powdered sugar is fully absorbed. If too thick to easily spread, add a little more coffee. If too thin even after whisking for a couple of minutes, add a little more powdered sugar.
• Spread the frosting over the cooled cake, then sprinkle evenly with coconut.
• Allow the frosting to set before cutting the cake into individual squares and serving at room temperature.