Tradtional German Chocolate Cake

Some things shouldn't be changed or at least not dramatically. This Traditional German Chocolate Cake is one of them. It's one of the original naked cakes. A simple old fashioned cake with an irresistible custard filling chock full of pecans and coconut. This tall, elegant, perfect cake is just begging to be in your rotation.

And you can't make just any chocolate cake. This cake has a particular recipe for both the cake and the filling and anything else isn't a true German Chocolate Cake.

So What Makes it a German Chocolate Cake?

The short answer is the chocolate. It's a special semisweet chocolate that bakes up into a light chocolate cake. The second thing is the filling. A simple, not too sweet combination of eggs, evaporated milk, sugar, vanilla, lots of pecans and coconut. It's important to use evaporated milk not condensed milk.

What's the difference between evaporated and condensed Milk?

They are both condensed. in other words, they have been heated to evaporate about 40% to 60% of the water. Then their paths diverge.

Evaporated Milk is finished after it has been heated and the water reduced by about 60% resulting in a beige milk that is slightly thickened. It has no added sugar. Evaporated milk is usually used in savory dishes but can be found in sweet recipes as well as seen in this filling.

Condensed Milk which is usually labeled sweetened condensed milk, contains about 40 to 45% sugar which sweetens the milk and also acts as a natural preservative. The color is also a lighter beige, it's syrupy and much thicker. Condensed milk is used mostly in rich desserts, baked goods, fudge, pie fillings (like key lime pie), and sweet drinks like iced coffee or Vietnamese coffee. This milk can also be used to make homemade dulce de leche.

Are they interchangeable? No they are not. Both the texture and taste will be radically different in whatever recipe is used. Savory dishes become sweet and sweet dishes become savory. Neither is very appetizing sounding.

All Nuts don't weigh the same

In the fall when fresh nuts come on the market, I buy several bags and freeze them. They are usually in halves or large pieces.

When it comes to measuring nuts, weighing is definitely the best option. If a recipe calls for "nuts chopped" or "chopped nuts" there can be a big discrepancy between the weight of halves and chopped. Nut halves or whole nuts will weigh less in a cup than "chopped nuts" or "nut pieces" because not as many fit in a cup due to their size as do chopped nuts which are smaller. It's a distinction worth noting.

For instance, in the filling recipe it calls for 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans. If you weigh 1 1/2 cups of pecan halves they weigh 180 grams. 1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans weigh 255 grams So you can see there is a plus 75 gram difference when chopping the nuts.

Is This cake from Germany?

Nope! It is very American. In 1852, Samuel German developed the sweet baking chocolate bar for the Baker's Chocolate Company. In order to honor him it was named Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate.

However, the cake wasn't created until 1957 when Mrs. George Clay of Dallas, Texas made a cake using the German's Sweet Chocolate. It was submitted to the Dallas Morning News and it was published on June 13, 1957 as German's Chocolate Cake.

If you don't use Baker's German's Chocolate (the semisweet version), it won't be the same. The chocolate is a tad sweeter than most semisweet chocolate and is easily found in grocery stores.

Reasons to Love This Cake

• It's a classic - so it has to be delicious or it wouldn't have lasted this long.
• It's relatively easy to to make and the reward is great.
• The light chocolate cake does require beaten egg whites but I'm going to show you an easy way to do that.
• The pecan and coconut filling and topping is so easy to make.
• To be really truthful, I can eat the filling by the spoonful which means I can't be around it as it cools.
• Last but definitely not least, it isn't frosted in any way. How easy is that?

Recipe Ingredients

German Chocolate Cake

FRONT ROW; baking soda,baking powder, vanilla extract, salt

SECOND ROW: Egg yolks, Baker's German's Chocolate

THIRD ROW: Unsalted Butter, egg whites, water

BACK ROW: Granulated sugar, sour cream, cake flour

Pecan and Coconut Filling

FRONT ROW: Egg yolks, vanilla extract

MIDDLE ROW: Unsalted butter, toasted pecans

BACK ROW: Granulated sugar, evaporated milk, coconut

Step by Step instructions

Step 1. The Baker's German's Semisweet Chocolate wrapper. This can be found in most grocery stores. Step 2. Chop the chocolate to make it easier to melt. Step 3. Combine the water and chocolate. Microwave on half power or place over low heat to melt the chocolate, stirring constantly and being careful not to burn it. Step 4. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and baking soda together. Sifting the cake flour ensures there will be no lumps which often go unmixed in the batter.

Step 5. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together over waxed paper or parchment paper and set aside. Step 6. Place the granulated sugar, softened butter and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer. Step 7. Beat until light in color and texture. Step 8. Add the egg yolks.

Step 9.Mix them together until blended. If they curdle don't worry. See my post on How to Avoid Crudled Cake Batter. Step 10. Add the melted and cooled chocolate. Step 11. Mix until everything is completely combined. Step 12. Add the first addition of flour. Always start and end with flour. Three addiotns of flour and two of sour cream is fine.

Step 13. Beat the flour in, Step 14. Add the first addition of sour cream and mix. Continue with two more additions of flour and one more of sour cream. Step 15. Add the egg whites and all of the sugar into a clean mixing bowl. (This is one of the reasons I love my Breville - you get a glass bowl and a stainless steel bowl with the mixer.) Step 16. Start beating on low until the sugar and whites are blended, then move to medium and finally to high. The whites should be a medium texture - not so soft they don't hold together but not so tight they make stiff peaks. In the photo above, you can see the peaks falling over somewhat. If in doubt, stop before they hold straight up peaks as the meringue will be difficult to fold in smoothly.

Step 17. Add the meringue to the cake batter. Step 18. Fold in until the two are fully combined. Step 19. Divide between the prepared pans. Step 20. Bake as directed, cool and turn out of the pans. At this point, I suggest freezing them even if they are to be filled the same day. The layers are tender and filling them, partially or fully frozen makes it easier to fill them without damaging the tops.

Step 25. Whisk together the evaporated milk, sugar, yolks and butter in a saucepan. Step 26. Cut the butter into about 8 pieces and add them to the saucepan. Step 27. Place over low to medium low heat and, stirring constantly, heat until it thickens. Do not bring it to a boil or the yolks may curdle. Step 28. Take the saucepan off the heat and add the vanilla, coconut and pecans. Cool. Place in a storage container and refrigerate if not using immediately.

Step 29. Place the last of the filling on the top layer of the cake. Step 30. Spread it evenly as was done on the two layer layers. Step 31. This is what is referred to as an afterthought. I forgot to show you how to wrap the cake edges before I cut it for the photos. Take a long piece of plastic wrap and wrap the edges of the cake to prevent them from drying out since the have no finish on them. Step 32. I hope you can see the difference in the two ways the cake was cut. On the left, the layers are raggy because I cut straight down on them. On the right side, they are smooth and prettier because I used a sawing motion which didn't tear the layers.