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CHOW: Recipes: German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake Recipe

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German Chocolate Cake
Difficulty: Medium | Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins, plus cooling time | Active Time: | Makes: 8 to 10 servings

Most kids turn their noses up at German chocolate cake, maybe because of the chopped nuts or toasted coconut in the filling. But this, much tastier version—finished with a light vanilla buttercream—might just change their minds.

What to buy: Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate is a sweet baking chocolate that can be found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.

Unsweetened coconut flakes have a great texture and really make this cake. Look for them in natural food stores or in the natural food aisle of most grocery stores.

This recipe was featured as part of our Festivus menu.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

  • 2 ounces Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature

For the filling:

  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted and crumbled
  • 3/4 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

To assemble:

INSTRUCTIONS
For the cake:

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with butter; set aside.
  2. Fill a small saucepan with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Place chocolate in a stainless steel or glass bowl, set the bowl over the simmering water (be sure it is not touching the water), and stir until the chocolate is completely melted, about 3 to 5 minutes; set aside to cool slightly.
  3. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, then the egg yolk, beating after each addition until well incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Add vanilla and melted chocolate, and return the mixer to medium-high speed, mixing until evenly combined, about 30 seconds.
  5. Reduce speed to medium low and add 1/3 of the dry mixture. When just incorporated, add 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat, scraping down the bowl at least once, and ending with the last 1/3 of the dry mixture.
  6. Pour batter into the prepared dish, smooth with the spatula, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with only a few crumbs, about 35 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

For the filling:

  1. Combine cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 8 minutes.
  2. Transfer to a medium bowl, add coconut, pecans, butter, and salt, and stir until butter is melted and evenly incorporated. Let cool to room temperature.

To assemble:

  1. Once the cake is cooled, carefully turn it onto a cutting board and slice crosswise into thirds, trimming as necessary (the pieces should measure about 4 inches wide by 9 inches long).
  2. Spread about 1/3 of the filling evenly over the top of one piece of cake, another 1/3 of the filling over the top of a second piece of cake, then stack the two and place the last, unadorned piece on top.
  3. Frost the sides and top of the cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, then evenly spread the remainder of the filling on top of the cake.
    Write a review | 10 Reviews
POST A COMMENT |10 Comments

COMMENT

  • I finally began making this today and assembled the final product this evening after dinner. Wow! As in a little too rich for my blood! I've never been a fan of buttercream frosting and this recipe is no exception. When it's all said and done, the cake and frosting amounts to a little over a pound of butter! It is incredibly rich, so much so that I felt a little sick after eating it. However, my...+READ

    I finally began making this today and assembled the final product this evening after dinner. Wow! As in a little too rich for my blood! I've never been a fan of buttercream frosting and this recipe is no exception. When it's all said and done, the cake and frosting amounts to a little over a pound of butter! It is incredibly rich, so much so that I felt a little sick after eating it. However, my family really enjoyed it--my oldest didn't care for the frosting though.

    I also thought in light of the outcome it was a little too much effort involved. I wasn't able to find toasted unsweetened coconut and had to toast my own along with the pecans. I didn't reduce the sugar in the filling and maybe I should have because I used sweetened coconut flakes. I also discovered, as did another poster, that it doesn't take any more than 25 minutes to bake the cake. Even at 25 minutes I felt my cake was a little overdone--just a tad. This is probably not a recipe I will be making again.-COLLAPSE

  • I'm going to be another one of these annoying posters that will have contributed nothing towards rating the actual recipe. I will redeem myself however and come back after I've made it and let all know my thoughts on this cake. But first I want to say, "Who cares whether or not it originated in Germany?" It seems there are people on here who have a real need to show off their knowledge of a thing...+READ

    I'm going to be another one of these annoying posters that will have contributed nothing towards rating the actual recipe. I will redeem myself however and come back after I've made it and let all know my thoughts on this cake. But first I want to say, "Who cares whether or not it originated in Germany?" It seems there are people on here who have a real need to show off their knowledge of a thing without being in any way helpful as to their own experience related to making this cake or the final results which is frankly all I give a flip about.-COLLAPSE

  • Oh and I used semi-sweet chocolate squares instead and found no issues.

  • I'm in the process of making this cake right now for my mom's birthday. The filling tastes really nice!
    My cake only took 25 minutes to bake though, and even that might have been a bit too long. I can't see how anything that thin would take 35 minutes to bake.

  • I love German chocolate cake!!!! I made this cake for my son's birhday and I had ten teenage boys diving into the cake and loving it!!!! They just thought I was the best cook ever! Thank You!

  • Looks nice. GCC was my favorite growing up (still is I suppose) and I always chose for my BDay cake (odd I know).

    My Mom's version had a more carmel-y gooey (sp?) frosting, almost an off-gold in color (hard to describem but thats close. Since I was an child of the 60s, odds are she picked it up from Betty Crocker or something similar. I know it wasnt one of the G'ma's.

    I need to see if my...+READ

    Looks nice. GCC was my favorite growing up (still is I suppose) and I always chose for my BDay cake (odd I know).

    My Mom's version had a more carmel-y gooey (sp?) frosting, almost an off-gold in color (hard to describem but thats close. Since I was an child of the 60s, odds are she picked it up from Betty Crocker or something similar. I know it wasnt one of the G'ma's.

    I need to see if my sister has the recipe and Ill comeback and share for the fans. Mom's in the n/home doing well, but have much the memory anymore.-COLLAPSE

  • "Most kids turn their noses up at German chocolate cake, maybe because of the chopped nuts or toasted coconut in the filling."

    Strange kids. I've never seen nieces or nephews who wouldn't come back for seconds or thirds of the real thing. I know it's all a matter of taste, but buttercream frosting could be overkill.

  • German chocolate cake isn't German from Germany, it was popularized years ago by a man whose last name was German. Seems to me I read he lived in Texas or somewhere in southern US. He marketed a chocolate for baking that was lighter and sweeter than regular baking chocolate, and a popular cake that was made using it traditionally had a batter that was more like milk chocolate than a dark, dense...+READ

    German chocolate cake isn't German from Germany, it was popularized years ago by a man whose last name was German. Seems to me I read he lived in Texas or somewhere in southern US. He marketed a chocolate for baking that was lighter and sweeter than regular baking chocolate, and a popular cake that was made using it traditionally had a batter that was more like milk chocolate than a dark, dense chocolate. The typical icing was made of coconut and pecans in cooked evaporated milk, like a sweet caramel toffee topping. I'm sure if you googled it, you'd find more specifics than I can remember.-COLLAPSE

  • Besides the "Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate", which is not available in Germany, at least not by this name, it is in fact a pretty typical cake batter or "Rührteig" as we call it.
    There ARE differences as for flour and buttermilk but over all it is it. By the way in Germany by far the most used flour is "pastry flour" (Typ 405).

    What made me look twice were the pecan nuts and coconut...either...+READ

    Besides the "Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate", which is not available in Germany, at least not by this name, it is in fact a pretty typical cake batter or "Rührteig" as we call it.
    There ARE differences as for flour and buttermilk but over all it is it. By the way in Germany by far the most used flour is "pastry flour" (Typ 405).

    What made me look twice were the pecan nuts and coconut...either it's a recipe "straight outta germa sixties" (as "Toast Hawaii" or it must be global warming, because those are definitly NOT typical ingredients from germany. :)-COLLAPSE

  • What makes this German? I don't get it. It certainly doesn't sound like anything I've seen in German or Austrian bakeries or cookbooks.