German Chocolate Cake

Sorry I didn't get any good pictures!  We were too busy eating and drinking, haha, but this gives you a rough idea.

You're going to be stacking layers, so make sure you use straight edged cake pans.

I had made this before for my dad's birthday, and since my own birthday was Oktoberfest themed, I thought it only appropriate to give this cake another whirl.  The chocolate ganache frosting never thickened up for me the first time, but this time I heated the cream for longer and popped the final product in the fridge for a moment, and it worked beautifully.

This is probably the most involved recipe I've posted about so far, but this is the best German Chocolate Cake I have ever had, so I didn't mind the time it took.  I think using unsweetened coconut makes the filling so much better.  It wasn't as sickeningly sweet as other German Chocolate Cakes I have had.  I'll be sure to make this again and get better pictures!


German Chocolate Cake
Adapted from David Lebovitz:  http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2005/09/german-chocolat-1/
Makes a tall 9-inch cake, about 16 servings

For the cake:

• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 6 tablespoons water
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (split into 1 1/4 cup, and 1/4 cup)
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temp.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

~Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper.

~Melt both chocolates together with the 6 tablespoons of water. You don't want direct heat, so use either a double-boiler or a microwave. Stir until smooth, then set aside until room temperature.

~In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and 1 1/4 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate, then the egg yolks, one at a time.

~Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

~Mix in half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, then the rest of the dry ingredients.  In other words, you want to start and end with the dry ingredients.

~In a separate metal or glass bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft, droopy peaks. Beat in the 1/4 cup of sugar until stiff. (This takes a while by hand!  Bust out the mixer if you have one.)

~Fold about one-third of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until there’s no trace of egg white visible.

~Divide the batter into the 2 prepared cake pans, smooth the tops, and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (I tested at 40 minutes)

~Cool cake layers completely.

~While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the filling, syrup, and icing.

Pecan/Coconut Filling:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 ounces butter, cut into small pieces
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut, toasted

~Mix the cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the 3 ounces butter, salt, toasted coconut, and pecan pieces in a large bowl. (The pecans and coconut shreds that I bought have a toasting recipe on the back of the bag.)

~Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom to make sure nothing burns.  Do this until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the spoon (an instant-read thermometer will read 170°F.)

~Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature. (It will thicken.)



Rum Simple Syrup:

• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark rum

To make the syrup:

~In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dark rum.  It's that simple!

Chocolate Ganache Icing:

• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 ounces unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream

To make the icing:

~Place the 8 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl with the corn syrup and 1 1/2 ounces of butter.

~Heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Let sit until room temperature.  (I popped mine in the fridge for a moment. If you do this check often!  It can stiffen up quickly.  No sex jokes please ;])

To assemble the cake:

~Remove the cake layers from the pans and cut both cake layers in half horizontally.  Using a serrated knife is the easiest.

~Set the first cake layer on a cake plate. Brush well with syrup. Spread 3/4 cup of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach to the edges. Set another cake layer on top.
(I would divide the filling into 4 sections to ensure each layer gets an even amount.  I found the first time I used too much early on and the top was lacking.)

~Repeat, using the syrup to brush each cake layer, then spreading 3/4 cup of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top.

~Ice the sides with the chocolate icing, then pipe a decorative border of chocolate icing around the top, encircling the coconut topping.

~Last but not least, enjoy all of your hard work!