German Chocolate Cake
The Chocolate Connoisseur July 13th, 2007
German chocolate cake is a four-layer cake with a large amount of coconut in the icing. The cake is usually topped with a coconut pecan topping. This cake was not actually invented by the Germans, and actually a person from Dallas, Texas, first sent the recipe to a newspaper in 1957. The name German chocolate cake comes from the type of chocolate that was used to make it. Baker’s Sweet Chocolate was used in the first recipe. In 1852, a man named Sam German developed the baking chocolate that is known today as Baker’s Chocolate. The German style chocolate has a sweeter taste and is the same consistency as milk chocolate. German chocolate can now be purchased in grocery stores in the baking supply area.
Ingredients:
· 2 cups sugar
· 1 cup shortening
· 4 egg yolks
· 1 cup buttermilk
· 2 ½ cups flour
· ¼ teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 4 squares German chocolate (1 ounce)
· ½ cup boiling water
· 4 egg whites
Icing
· 2 egg yolks
· 2 ½ cups sugar
· 2 cups flaked coconut
· 1 ½ cup chopped toasted pecans
· 4 cups heavy cream
· ½ cup of butter
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 4 - 9 inch round pans. Melt the chopped German chocolate squares in hot water and set aside. In large bowl, cream together sugar and shortening. Beat in egg yolks until smooth. Next add buttermilk. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda, mix into creamed mixture. Add chocolate to the mixture. In a dry, clean bowl add the egg whites and whip into stiff peaks, fold into batter.
Divide the batter evenly into the prepared 4 pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in wire rack, in pans. While the cakes are cooling, prepare the icing. In a medium bowl, whip egg yolks, heavy cream and sugar until smooth. Cook in a double boiler until thickens. Remove from heat and stir in coconut, pecans and butter. Let the frosting cool before icing the cake.
To ice the cake, use half the frosting in between the layers and the other half on the outside and top of the cake. Starting with the bottom layer, use 1/3 of the frosting, and then add the next two layers. The top or fourth layer is iced first, followed by the sides using the other half of the icing.
Chocolate buttermilk cakes have been consumed for many years and are very popular in the South, along with the German Chocolate Cake. German Chocolate cake has been enjoyed for over seventy years and will remain to be a top selling item in bakeries and a popular cake mix all over the world.
