When birthdays roll around in our house, I enjoy baking the family’s birthday cakes. However, I usually have one condition, it has to be something I have not blogged about yet. Yes I am one of those food bloggers that is always looking for new material so I impose this even on my kids for their birthdays. I decided to mix it up and make something a little different for my own birthday, I went with a German Chocolate Cake Recipe, something I have never made before and actually don’t ever order at restaurants either.This recipe is a little labor intensive but well worth it. (and by labor intensive I mean there were a lot of pans to clean!)
I am not sure if there is any other German Chocolate other than what you find in the baking section of your grocery store. Please comment below if there is a substitute to keep this authentic, guessing there was something else when this cake was created.
What I love about this cake is that is keep nice and light by adding egg whites to the batter. Just be sure you beat your egg white properly and don’t mix them too much.
Add the batter to three 9 inch baking pans. I used baking non-stick spray and they came out lovely. (you know the stuff with flour added) If you are nervous, be sure to add parchment to the bottom of the pan and spray that as well.
Watch your cakes carefully, there is nothing worse than a dry cake.
I made my layers the day before I was serving the cake. You may want to make the frosting the day before too.
Frosting is not that hard, but cooked frosting made me a little nervous. The milk, egg and butter mixture never seemed to thicken up, even after about 10 minutes. I took a leap of faith and ended the cooking process and added the coconut and nuts. I let it sit for at least 90 minutes to cool.
Finally it worked, it was spreadable but still thick. No need to cover the sides to this cake, just the middle and top. (have to love that)
While it is pretty just like this, who doesn’t love a little chocolate drizzle over the top?
Allow your chocolate to set before serving. I told you this was a multi-step cake but well worth it. Look how beautiful this will look on your dessert table.
The slices are super big with three layers. This German Chocolate Cake easily serves 12.
Be sure to check out our most recent cake recipes we have made. Like our Cheesecake layered cakes, peanut butter and chocolate cake, traditional devils food cake just to name a few. Don’t forget your dog’s birthdays either, check out our homemade dog cake recipes too.
German Chocolate Cake Recipe
German Chocolate Cake
Yield: 14 Slices
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
A 3 layer German Chocolate Cake that is well worth making homemade
Ingredients
- 4 ounces German sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
FROSTING
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1-1/2 cups evaporated milk
- 3/4 cup butter
- 5 egg yolks, beaten
- 2 cups flaked coconut
- 1-1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
ICING
- 1 teaspoon shortening
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate
Instructions
- 1.Spray 3 9 inch round baking pans with baking spray (spray with flour) or Line three greased 9-in. round baking pans with waxed paper. Grease waxed paper and set aside. In small saucepan, melt chocolate with water over low heat; cool.
- 2. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
- 3. In a small bowl and with clean beaters, beat the 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold a fourth of the egg whites into creamed mixture; fold in remaining whites.
- 4. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
- 5. For frosting, in a small saucepan, heat sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks over medium-low heat until mixture is thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla extract. Cool until thick enough to spread. Spread a third of the frosting over each cake layer and stack the layers.
- 6. In a microwave, melt chocolate and shortening; stir until smooth; drizzle over cake. Yield: 12 servings.
Notes
Adapted from Taste of Home
Nutrition Information
Yield 14Serving Size 1
Amount Per ServingCalories 822Total Fat 48gSaturated Fat 24gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 21gCholesterol 193mgSodium 485mgCarbohydrates 93gFiber 4gSugar 73gProtein 10g
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on stayingclosetohome.com should only be used as a general guideline.
