German Chocolate Cake

I don't have my limited decorating tools here in DC, but it won't stop me from attempting to make a pretty cake! A friend a work's birthday was last week and his favorite cake is German Chocolate Cake. I had never make a German Chocolate Cake (and actually never even tasted one!) but I'm always up for trying to make a new type of cake. It turned out pretty good and would definitely make it again. I'm discovering that almost any cake recipe that calls for buttermilk is going to be a winner.

A little trick I've learned is to make the actual cake portion a day early. Not only does this give you a little breathing room when putting everything together, it also makes working with the cake a lot easier. Cold or frozen cake just behaves so much better and is a lot easier to decorate than warm or even room temperature cake. I don't know about you, but I rarely seem to give myself enough time when making a cake to get everything done just how I want it and the decorating and assembly is always the step that suffers. Breaking the process up into two portions allows you to focus your efforts appropriately.

Just let the cakes cool down to room temperature and wrap well in plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for a few days. If you need to keep them for more than a few days, put them in the freezer (and if you really want to be sure they are well wrapped, put them in those giant freezer bags).

Oh - and isn't this cake stand just gorgeous?? But seriously, $65? No thanks. But this one, at $20, is just as cute and comes in multiple colors! Oh goodness, once I have a stable house/apartment again, I'm going to be spending so much money on kitchen stuff. And I should really look into taking a class or two on cake decorating because I'm really starting to enjoy it. I'm sure DC has tons.

I hate the fact that this picture turned out so yellow. Darn fluorescent lights.

German Chocolate Cake
adapted from all recipes

Ingredient
Cake
1/2 cup water
4 oz German Chocolate
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
4 egg whites

Filling
1 cup white sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1 stick butter
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
1 teaspoon shortening
2 oz semisweet chocolate

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and stick at large, very clean metal or glass mixing bowl in the freezer.
2. Combine 1/2 cup water and 4 oz German chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted and combined. Turn off heat and let cool slightly.
3. Sift together cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. Cream together butter and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and mix well. Add melted chocolate and vanilla and mix well.
5. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately until both are well incorporated.
6. Clean your mixture beaters very well and stick them in the freezer for a few minutes.
7. Remove bowl and beaters from the freezer. Pour egg whites into the very cold bowl and beat until you have stiff peaks.*
8. Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, about half at the time until just mixed in.
9. Pour the batter into 3 well greased and parchment papered** cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes***.
10. To make the filling, combine the sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and egg yolks into a saucepan. Heat over low heat until the mixture becomes a little thick. Remove from heat and mix in vanilla extract, coconut, and pecans. Let the mixture cool until it is a spreadable consistency.
11. Put one cake on your cake round (or plate). Top it with about 1/3 of the filling. Add the next cake and top with 1/3 of the filling. Add the last cake and top with the remaining 1/3 of the filling, letting it run down the sides.
12. For the topping, melt the chocolate and shortening in the microwave until smooth and drizzle over the top of the cake.

*When you lift the beaters out of the egg whites, the egg whites form peaks that don't fall over.
**Cut parchment paper circles to fit into the bottom of you cake pan by folding a square of parchment paper in half twice and then again along the corner. Cut the end off at about half the diameter of the cake pan and unfold to a circle. Yeah, I know that was confusing but I can't figure out a better way to type it. I think I'll make a short video some time for how to do this because it's so each to show someone how to do it.
***Here is where you would wrap these bad boys up in plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge if you weren't going to make the entire cake at once.