Sweet German Chocolate Cake
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Any time you take a cake made with a particularly sweet kind of chocolate (which is really all that “German’s chocolate” is, a sweet chocolate made by some American guy with the last name of German… it’s not a “German” thing, like sausage or beer or Volkswagens), and layer an absolute mountain-full of coconutty-pecanny caramelly goo on top and in between its layers, you have a seriously good dessert going on.
I am really excited about this cake.
And it’s not just because it’s full of the aforementioned ingredients of wonder (although goo = happiness, in case you weren’t cognizant of that fact), it’s also because this puppy towers in a commanding way. It’s a cake that says “I’m here”, and takes your breath away. Not a lot unlike the Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, which is an institution unto itself. So the next time you have a birthday to bake for, or a dinner party, or a holiday where you want to fill your family up into a lovely comatose state, get cracking on this cake. It’s worth the frustration of finding a third cake pan to bake the layers in. :)
Adapted from the Baker’s recipe…
CUPCAKES OR CAKE LAYERS:
4 oz. German sweet chocolate, chopped or broken into pieces (1 package if using Baker’s brand)
1/2 cup water
4 eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups cake & pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
COCONUT-PECAN FILLING & FROSTING:
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz.)
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 package Angel Flake shredded coconut (14 oz. bag, or 5 1/3 cups)*
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted
- Preheat oven to 350°, and cover bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with parchment or waxed paper; spray sides with cooking spray. (For cupcakes- just grease about 24 liners in muffin tins.)
- In a medium bowl, microwave chocolate and water for 1 minute, stir, then return to microwave for 30 more seconds to almost melt chocolate. Stir until smooth and melted- you might need up to an additional 30 seconds in microwave. Allow to cool.
- Separate egg yolks from whites and set aside (allow to come to room temperature).
- In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt together, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes), scraping sides of bowl with a spatula every minute or so. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well and scraping sides of bowl after each addition. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla until combined. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition (starting and ending with flour).
- In a medium bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into chocolate batter until well blended. Pour evenly into prepared pans or cupcake liners.
- Bake for 30 minutes (cupcakes- about 18 minutes), or until cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in pans for 15 minutes, then remove to cool on wire racks. (Spread filling only when cakes are cooled.)
- FROSTING & FILLING: In a heavy saucepan, whisk milk, yolks and vanilla together until well blended. Add sugar and butter, and cook over medium for about 12 minutes while stirring constantly until thickened and golden brown. Remove from heat, stir coconut and toasted pecans in, and let sit to cool slightly. Spread between cake layers and onto top of cake; or spoon liberally over tops of cupcakes.
Tips:
- I used 8″ cake pans because I had three of them- and don’t have three 9″ ones. (I saved a teeny bit of batter and made a few cupcakes instead.)
- Toast the nuts! You know I’m a huge fan of the flavor of toasted nuts, instead of plain nuts. Spread the chopped pecans on a baking sheet and bake in your hot oven for about 6 – 8 minutes, until fragrant and a teeny bit toasted (but not black).
- The gooey filling: is worth making this cake for, really. Skip the cake if you really want. WARNING: if you are making cupcakes, you will have a lot of extra filling. This is not a bad thing. (More to eat out of the cooled saucepan later.)
- *You might not need the full bag of coconut if your caramel sauce has thickened considerably after the 12 minutes. My filling didn’t seem thick enough after adding half of the bag (which is what the original recipe calls for), so I improvised. So be on alert- after stirring in the pecans and half the bag, see if you need to add more to get it to a sticky, spreadable consistency.
- This cake can be frozen! I freeze the gooey filling separate from the cake rounds/cupcakes (which are naturally well-wrapped as well), and then thaw in the fridge when ready to assemble. Makes life easier since you’re not always able to put together a towering cake of wowness from A – Z on a Monday night, right?
- “They” say that the tops of the cakes might crack a bit, which mine did only in the slightest. The good news is that it so doesn’t matter, because of the pile of goo that hides any ugliness.
- Enjoy!
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