Kärleksmums (Swedish mocha squares) are the perfect combination of soft, chocolate cake covered in a chocolate coffee glaze and topped with coconut flakes. This rich and decadent treat makes a wonderful Valentine’s Day dessert or just enjoy it any time you’re in the mood for chocolate!

Karleksmums chocolate mocha squares with knife covered in frosting.

Although there’s no direct translation for kärleksmums, these chocolatey mocha squares go by many names including love yums, love treats, mocha squares.

This decadent dessert is quite popular in Sweden and can be found at almost any café. When you bite into one, you can picture yourself sitting in a Swedish café savoring a rich, chocolatey kärleksmum along with a hot cup of coffee.

They’re especially popular around Alla hjärtans dag (Valentine’s Day). Cut them into little heart-shaped cakes with heart cookie cutters and enjoy them with someone you love!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Cocoa powder: Use a good quality cocoa powder for the best flavor.
Unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter when baking. Different brands of butter use varying amounts of salt in salted butter. Using unsalted butter will help give uniform results when baking. If you’re using salted butter, reduce or eliminate any additional salt.
Whole milk: Adds more fat which in turn makes a richer tasting cake.
Coffee: Use a strong black coffee for a delicious mocha flavor.
Unsweetened coconut flakes: This recipe is plenty sweet so there’s no need to add more sugar with sweetened coconut flakes. Make sure to use unsweetened coconut flakes.

How To Make Kärleksmums

Karleksmums dry ingredients mixed together in a bowl with a whisk.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. (Parchment makes getting the cake out of the pan so easy!)
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat or in the microwave. Set it aside to cool.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Eggs and sugar mixed together in a bowl.

In a separate, large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the melted butter and milk to the egg mixture and mix to combine.

Dry ingredients in a bowl with wet ingredients.

Kärleksmums cake ingredients mixed together in a bowl.

Fold in the dry ingredients and gently mix together. Don’t over mix the batter or you’ll end up with a tough cake.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, using a rubber spatula to smooth out the top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.
Cool completely before adding the glaze.

To Make the Glaze

Once the cake has cooled, it’s time to make the glaze!
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
Once melted, remove it from the heat and add the next 5 ingredients (sifted cocoa powder through the salt). Mix everything together until smooth.
Spread the glaze over the cake. Sprinkle the coconut over the glaze while it’s still a little warm so the coconut will stick to it. Enjoy!

Closeup of a karleksmums chocolate mocha square with cup in background.

Expert Tips

Sift the cocoa powder – Cocoa powder is extremely fine so it clumps together very easily. If you use it without sifting, you’re likely to end up with clumps of cocoa powder in your cake and icing. Sifting the cocoa powder is the best way to make sure you have a smooth chocolate cake batter and icing.
Cool the butter – Make sure the butter has cooled a bit before adding the egg to it. Otherwise you run the risk of making scrambled eggs, and you don’t want that!
Adjust the frosting – This is more of a glaze, so if you want a thicker frosting reduce the amount of coffee and/or increase the amount of powdered sugar. You can also make a coffee flavored buttercream if you want a thick and fluffy frosting.

How to Store Kärleksmums

Kärleksmums can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for about 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To freeze kärleksmums, place the squares in a single layer and store in an air-tight container or a zip-top freezer bag. To freeze the entire cake, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in a zip-top freezer bag. Kärleksmums will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

More Desserts You’ll Love

Kärleksmums (Swedish Chocolate Mocha Squares)

Kärleksmums (Swedish mocha squares) are the perfect combination of a soft, chocolate cake covered in a chocolate coffee glaze and topped with coconut flakes.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 5

Servings

Ingredients

For the cake:

1½ cup all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter
⅔ cup whole milk
3 large eggs
1¼ cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla

For the glaze and topping:

5 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
4 Tbsp coffee, cooled
2¼ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

To make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat or in the microwave. Set it aside to cool.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a separate, large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the melted butter and milk to the egg mixture and mix to combine.
Fold in the dry ingredients and gently mix together. Don't over mix the batter or you'll end up with a tough cake.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, using a rubber spatula to smooth out the top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.
Cool completely before adding the glaze.

To make the glaze:

Once the cake has cooled, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
Once melted, remove from heat and add the next 5 ingredients (sifted cocoa powder through the salt). Mix together until smooth.
Spread glaze over the cake. Sprinkle coconut over the glaze while it's still a little warm so the coconut will stick to it.

Notes

Sift the cocoa powder – Cocoa powder is extremely fine so it clumps together very easily. If you use it without sifting, you’re likely to end up with clumps of cocoa powder in your cake and icing. Sifting the cocoa powder is the best way to make sure you have a smooth chocolate cake batter and icing.

Cool the butter – Make sure the butter has cooled a bit before adding the egg to it. Otherwise you run the risk of making scrambled eggs, and you don’t want that!

Adjust the frosting – This is more of a glaze, so if you want a thicker frosting reduce the amount of coffee and/or increase the amount of powdered sugar. You can also make a coffee flavored buttercream if you want a thick and fluffy frosting.

Nutrition

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